Syria in the Last 24 Hours:

Airstrikes Destroy Al Nusra Targets in Hama Province

Rasa - The Syrian Air Force launched a number of airstrikes over Eastern and Northeastern Hama, striking the positions of Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at or the Levant Liberation Board) at several locations, a military source said.

News ID: 435523

Date: 27 December 2017 - 23:30

RNA - The military source said that the warplanes launched several airstrikes above the Al-Nusra's strongholds in al-Hamra and al-Sa'an regions in Eastern and Northeastern Hama.

The army also hit hard the military positions of the terrorists in other key provinces across Syria.

Hama

The Syrian Air Force carried out a number of combat flights over the positions of Al-Nusra Front in Northeastern Hama, killing tens of terrorists and wounding many others, field sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The sources said that the warplanes pounded vastly Al-Nusra's strongholds in al-Hamra and al-Sa'an regions in Eastern and Northeastern Hama, inflicting major losses on the terrorists.

The sources went on to say that several positions and military vehicles of Al-Nusra were destroyed in the air raids in the villages of Malvalah, al-Mosheirefeh, Abu Dali, al-Toweibiyeh and Rajm al-Mosharaf.

In the meantime, a large number of Al-Nusra fighters were killed or wounded in the repeated attacks of the army aircraft in the villages and towns of al-Shakousiyeh, al-Rahjan, Um Mayal and Bayouz in Hama province.

Well-informed sources said on Monday that the army set up a new unit of ISIL Hunters, elite forces of the army, in Northwestern Hama to join the pro-government forces' operation against terrorists in the province.

The sources said that the army managed to establish a new unit of ISIL Hunters in the town of al-Saqilebiyeh in Northwestern Hama after the ISIL Hunters attained significant achievements in war on terrorism in the country.

The sources further said that al-Saqilebiyeh is home to one of the largest units of the National Defense Forces (NDF).

Meantime, field sources said on Tuesday that the Syrian Army sent more soldiers and military hardware to Hama in a bid to reinvigorate the government troops before launching its imminent assault in Idlib province.

The sources said that a large number of fresh soldiers and a large volume of military equipment were dispatched by the army to Northern Hama on Monday afternoon.

The sources further said that the fresh forces were previously in Wadi region near the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzur province, adding that the army has dispatched a large number of troops from Deir Ezzur to Hama, but, some Tiger Force units are still waiting for the commanders' order to move to Hama.

The Tiger Force has sent almost a half of its troops from Deir Ezzur to Northern Hama.

Idlib

Well-informed sources confirmed on Tuesday that the Syrian Army troops and popular forces are soon to launch a massive attack on the terrorists in Idlib province after the unprecedented army artillery and missile fire at terrorists' positions in the last two days.

The sources said that the army has deployed a large number of forces and a large volume of equipment in Northern Hama and Southern Idlib, adding that the ground troops are waiting for the final order to storm the strongholds of Al-Nusra Front in the Northwestern province of Idlib.

The sources added that the artillery and missile units have launched an unprecedented shelling of the Al-Nusra positions and movements in Northeastern Hama and Southern Idlib to pin down the terrorists behind their positions.

In the meantime, army officers said that their soldiers are standing at the height of preparedness for the start of a large-scale operation against the Al-Nusra in Northern Hama and Southern Idlib.

The source further said that the Syrian Air Force has been carrying out a large number of sorties over the Al-Nusra positions in Northern Hama up to Saraqib region in Eastern Idlib.

He added that the army's Special Forces are now well-prepared for storming the enemy positions from different flanks, decreasing the Al-Nusra' military movements in the region as much as possible.

Damascus

An Arab media outlet reported on Tuesday that the Al-Nusra Front has agreed the Syrian Army's terms for leaving Southwestern Damascus for Idlib along with their family members in the next 48 hours amid the rapid advances of the government forces.

The Arabic-language al-Watan daily reported that the Al-Nusra has accepted the entire terms and conditions of the army for evacuating Southwestern Damascus in the next 48 hours and called on the army to halt military operations after the army captured al-Kanayat region North of Harfa and Tal (hill) Amer and advanced further towards Sariyeh Aziz and Rajm al-Qanas.

The daily further said that the first group of terrorists would leave the region on Tuesday, adding that the remaining pockets of the terrorists who do not intend to leave Southwestern Damascus will receive government amnesty after surrendering their arms and applying for pardoning.

In the meantime, a source in the Reconciliation Committee said that based on the agreement the Al-Nusra militants and their family members are to leave the region for Idlib province in Northwestern Syria and the entire villages in Jabal al-Sheikh region will be delivered to the army and local security forcers.

Field sources, meantime, reported that a number of commanders of Al-Nusra have escaped the battlefield in Southwestern Damascus and moved towards the borders with Lebanon and Shab'aa and some of them moved towards Israeli monitoring posts in the occupied Golan Heights following the army advances in the region.

847/940