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Syrian Army Makes New Gains in Hama Province

Rasa - The Syrian army continued its military operations in Northeastern Hama by purging terrorists from strategic villages.

News ID: 435566

Date: 31 December 2017 - 21:15

RNA - The army units drove back the al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) terrorists from key villages in Northeastern Hama after destroying the defense lines of terrorists there.

The Syrian troops killed several terrorists and injured many more in fierce clashes over controlling of the strategic regions. They also destroyed military equipment of the terrorists.

The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria.

Hama

The Syrian Army troops imposed control over more regions in Northeastern Hama, and forced the terrorists of Al-Nusra Front to escape from the battlefields in groups, field sources reported on Saturday.

The sources said that the army men drove the Al-Nusra out of the villages of al-Saloumiyeh and Abu Omar and Atshan Southwest of the village of al-Hamdaniyeh.

The sources said that the Al-Nusra has suffered heavy casualties in the battlefield and the remaining pockets of its forces fled the region.

Militant-affiliated websites said earlier on Saturday that the terrorist groups stationed in Northern Hama resumed infighting concurrent with the Syrian army's military advances from several directions in the region and in Southern Idlib.

The ISIL terrorists penetrated into the military positions of Al-Nusra Front in the town of Abu Khanadeq in the Northern outskirts of Hama, the terrorist-affiliated websites reported.

They also reiterated that the ISIL penetrated into Northern Hama after a group of Al-Nusra Front terrorists joined ISIL and withdrew from their military positions in Abu Khanadeq.

The terrorist-affiliated sources also said that clashes among terrorists erupted after a terrorist group affiliated to Al-Nusra Front attacked the ISIL stronghold in the village of Kafroumeh and killed senior ISIL commander Mohammad Ebrahim Joulaq nom du guerre Shimiayee.

Dara'a

The terrorist groups have started abducting civilians in the Southern province of Dara'a to later demand their families to pay a hefty amount of money, informed sources said on Saturday.

A fresh wave of insecurity and tension has covered terrorist-held regions in Dara'a province, the sources said, adding that kidnapping civilians and plundering their properties by the terrorists have increased in the region in an unprecedented manner.

The sources said that terrorists abduct civilians and then ask their families to pay $200,000-250,000 in ransom.

Damascus

The Syrian army dispatched reinforcement troops and military equipment to Eastern Ghouta along with intensification of clashes in the region.

Battlefield sources reported that a large number of Dara al-Qalamoun forces of the Syrian army have been dispatched to Eastern Ghouta in tens of military and armored vehicles.

The sources pointed to the intensification of clashes in Eastern Damascus, and confirmed that the Syrian army's special forces have engaged in tough battle with the terrorists at the Vehicle Management region of Harasta.

On the other hand, the Syrian army's security forces seized a truck carrying a large volume of ammunition and highly-explosive materials from the Dara'a-based terrorists destined to reach their compatriots in Eastern Ghouta.

In a relevant development on Saturday, the Syrian army repelled the terrorists' attack on the government forces' strategic military positions in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus province, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.

The army units engaged in heavy clashes with the terrorists who had attacked the army's military positions at the Vehicle Management region of Harasta in Eastern Damascus.

Meantime, a battlefield source confirmed that the Syrian troops managed to destroy the terrorists' bomb-laden vehicle that was driven by Saudi terrorist Abu Dajaneh al-Jazravi before the vehicle could reach the army's military points and therefore foiled the terrorists' attack.

Also concurrent with the terrorists' failure, the Syrian army's artillery and missile units targeted the terrorists' military positions and inflicted heavy losses on them.

The Syrian army units also managed to destroy a tunnel of Ahrar al-Sham terrorists North of Vehicle Management in Harasta city, killing or wounding all terrorists inside the tunnel.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian army said it has seized a large volume of American-made weapons and ammunition from the terrorists during the mop-up operations in Deir Ezzur.

While purging terrorists from different districts of the city of Deir Ezzur, the army units gained access to a large cache of mortar rounds, different types of machine-guns, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and shoulder-mounted rockets, including some manufactured by the US.

The army forces also seized wireless and radio broadcasting stations in one of ISIL's headquarters while purging terrorists from al-Sayyal village in the outskirts of Albu Kamal city East of Deir Ezzur.

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