Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Makes New Gains in Hama Province

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

News ID: 436178

Date: 31 January 2018 - 19:27

RNA - The army units engaged in tough battle with the ISIL terrorists in Northeastern Hama after destroying the defense lines of the terrorists there and managed to capture more strategic regions.

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 captured another strategic region in Northeastern Hama after a tough battle with terrorists on Tuesday.

The army men engaged in a tough battle with the ISIL in Northeastern Hama and captured a key hill overlooking the village of Rasm al-Dahal North of the villages of Qanafez.

The ISIL suffered heavy casualties and its military hardware sustained major damage in the attack.

Relevant reports said that the Syrian and Russian fighter jets conducted heavy bombardments on terrorists' strongholds in two towns in Northern Hama, inflicting major casualties on the terrorists.

The fighter jets pounded the terrorists-held towns of Kafr Zita and al-Latamina in Northern Hama, destroying a number of terrorists' positions and killing or wounding several militants.

The airstrikes were launched simultaneous with the Syrian Army’s renewed offensive in neighboring Idlib province.

Idlib

The Syrian Army troops have launched fresh operations against the terrorists in Eastern Idlib to liberate the strategic town of Saraqib, military sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The sources said that the army men have launched their operation to push terrorists back from the key town of Saraqib that is located along several important roads in Eastern Idlib.

Also, the Syrian Air force conducted unprecedented bombardments against terrorists' positions and movements to weaken their defense lines near and inside Saraqib.

The army men, deployed in the town of Abu al-Dhohour, are only 45 km away from Saraqib, the sources said, adding that plain from Abu al-Dhohour to Saraqib paves the ground for the army vehicles to push towards Saraqib easily

Meantime, the Syrian Army troops carried out an ambush operation against a group of the Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) on Tuesday, killing six terrorists, including Abu Ahmad al-Janoubi.

A group of Al-Nusra terrorists was trapped in the army men's ambush operation in Tal (hill) Azah West of the town of Abu al-Dhohour.

Abu Ahmad al-Janoubi, a key field commander, was among the six terrorists killed in the ambush.

A field source said that the Al-Nusra group that came under attack was planning to storm the army defense lines West of Abu al-Dhohour.

The Al-Nusra suffered several casualties and the remaining pockets of its forces retreated from the battlefield.

Earlier reports said that the army troops stormed the positions of the Al-Nusra Front near the town of Abu al-Dhohour and captured several villages and heights in Southeastern Idlib.

The army men imposed control over the villages of Jafr and al-Khafiyeh and the Zahrah al-Khfiyeh Heights after heavy clashes with the Al-Nusra terrorists.

The army's engineering units have started defusing bombs and landmines planted by the militants in the newly-captured regions.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian Army's artillery and missile units targeted a convoy of ISIL vehicles in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, destroying several vehicles and killing a number of militants on Tuesday.

The artillery and missile units opened heavy fire at a convoy of ISIL vehicles in the depth of al-Mayadeen Badiyeh (desert), destroying five vehicles and killing the entire militants on board.

The army forces engaged in fierce clashes with the ISIL terrorists on Sunday after the latter attacked the army points in the village of al-Jala between the two towns of al-Mayadeen and Albu Kamal on the Western bank of the Euphrates in Southeastern Deir Ezzur.

A large number of terrorists were killed and wounded in the clashes and their weapons and military equipment were smashed.

Field sources also reported that the Syrian army has dispatched a large number of its special forces from Homs province to Deir Ezzur with the aim of reinvigorating its positions on the Western banks of the Euphrates South of Deir Ezzur.

Dara'a

Abu Hamzah Qadiyah, a notorious Jordanian field commander of Tahrir al-Sham, was killed after a bomb-laden vehicle went off in front of the terrorist group's checkpoint in Eastern Dara'a, local sources reported on Tuesday.

The sources said that a bomb car went off in front of al-Roba'ei checkpoint in Eastern Dara'a, killing 10 terrorists and wounding 20 more.

The members of Tahrir al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army were deployed in al-Roba'ei checkpoint, the sources said, adding that Abu Hamza Qadiyah, a Jordanian field commander of Tahrir al-Sham in Southern Syria together with four of his bodyguards were among the killed terrorists.

Dissident-affiliated websites disclosed last week that Commander of Shabab al-Sunna Nasim Abu Arah was assassinated by unknown attackers in front of a checkpoint in Northern Dara'a.

The websites further said that Shabab al-Sunna terrorists later accused Jeish al-Thowra rival terrorists of the attack and engaged in heavy fighting with them.

Shabab al-Sunna and Jeish al-Thowra clashed with each other last week after the latter group's commander was assassinated.

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