Syria in Past 24 Hours:

Army Evacuates 150 Civilians from Eastern Ghouta

Rasa - Tens of Syrian civilians left Eastern Ghouta in Damascus via a safe corridor on the 15th day of the ceasefire in the region after a bilateral agreement with the army, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

News ID: 436859

Date: 15 March 2018 - 22:11

RNA - Tens of Syrian civilians left Eastern Ghouta in Damascus via a safe corridor on the 15th day of the ceasefire in the region after a bilateral agreement with the army, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

Damascus

Head of Russia's Reconciliation Center in Syria Yuri Yuftshenko said around 148 Syrian civilians, including 79 children managed to exit Eastern Ghouta after an agreement was reached between the Syrian army and the terrorists.

He pointed to the civilians' demand for the establishment of new corridors for their exit from Eastern Ghouta, and said that al-Wafedeen humanitarian corridor is still closed to the residents of the terrorist-controlled regions.

Also on Wednesday, the Syrian army troops took full control of a strategic region in Southern Damascus as hundreds of terrorists of Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) left the area within the framework of an agreement with the Syrian army.

A sum of 300 terrorists of Al-Nusra Front and their allied groups with their families (a total of 1,000 people) left al-Qadam region in Southern Damascus on Tuesday for Idlib.

Meantime, with the exit of the terrorists from al-Qadam region and completion of clean-up operations in there, the Syrian army took full control of the region.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army carried out mop-up operations in newly-liberated areas of Eastern Ghouta and found several workshops used by the terrorists for making chemical weapons and ammunition in the region.

The army units seized a workshop of chemical and poisonous substances, including chlorine during their cleaning operations in al-Sheyfouniyeh town in Eastern Ghouta.

Meanwhile, the Syrian army troops also seized workshops for making chemicals, rockets, mortars and bombs.

Also on Wednesday, several notorious commanders of Faylaq al-Rahman terrorist group were killed in Syrian airstrikes and their main command center was destroyed in Eastern Ghouta.

The Syrian fighter jets targeted the terrorists' military positions in Ain Terma town in Eastern Ghouta overnight, destroying the command headquarters of Faylaq al-Rahman terrorist group known as '1000'.

The battlefield sources, meantime, reported that all terrorists and their commanders, including Abu Mohammad Seif, and deputy commander of Faylaq 120 Brigade, Abu Mohammad Jobar, were killed in the air raid.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army continued its military operations against the terrorist groups in Eastern Ghouta, and captured several regions in the town of Jasrin.

The Syrian government troops backed by the army's artillery and missile units fiercely clashed with the terrorists in Jasrin in Southern Ghouta, gaining control of at least 10 buildings in the Eastern part of this region.

Field sources have indicated the death and injury of tens of terrorists in the Syrian army's military operations, and emphasized that gaps have widened among terrorists as they are suffering increasing casualties and their position is aggravating under a tightening noose.

Also on Wednesday, a number of terrorists surrendered to the government forces in Eastern Ghouta as the Syrian army continued its rapid advances against the militants in Damascus countryside.

The Syrian army engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists in Harasta in Eastern Ghouta before the beginning of the daily truce.

The Syrian army's artillery units and air force also pounded the terrorists' military positions in the town of Harasta which has fully come under the army's siege.

Meantime, battlefield sources reported that a sum of 10 terrorists of Ahrar al-Sham have surrendered to the Syrian army as the army has tightened its noose on the terrorists in Harasta.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army continued operations in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, advancing towards an important militant-held region and killing the terrorists' media promoter.

The army forces engaged in clashes with the terrorists from several fronts near the town of Hamouriyeh South of Eastern Ghouta after the daily ceasefire, regaining control of several points.

Field sources reported that the Syrian army has seized full control of al-Maslakh region in Northwestern al-Shifouniyeh and South of al-Jala garden in Eastern Ghouta.

They added that during clashes with the terrorists in al-Hamouriyeh, Ahmad Hamdan, a media promoter of militants was killed.

Aleppo

Turkish sources disclosed that hundreds of Kurdish fighters have been either killed or held captive in the battle over the town of Afrin in the course of Operation Olive Branch.

The high death toll of the Kurdish fighters came after the Turkish army tightened noose on Kurdish fighters from three different directions.

Battlefield sources, meantime, reported that the Turkish army and their allied forces won control of the two villages of Deir Mashmash and Al-Zariqat on Sharan road.

The sources added that the Turkish-affiliated militants seized control of Kafar Dali, Qarbash, Faqir and Korba villages on Jandris road and also gained control of the villages of Kila, Maqarej and Dormashkaneli in Sheikh Hadid road.

Meantime, the Turkish General Staff reported that since the beginning of military operations against Kurdish fighters in Afrin region, a sum of 3,400 of Kurds have been either killed, surrendered or taken captive.

Also on Wednesday, Kurdish media outlets reported that tens of Turkish army soldiers and Ankara-backed militants have been killed as their comrades are inching closer to Afrin among intensified clashes.

Hawar News reported that during the Tuesday clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdish militias in Shieh, Jandriseh, Mabata, Belbeleh, Rajou and Shara 25 Turkish army troops and 46 of their allied forces were killed and one of their armored vehicles was also seized.

The source noted that the Kurdish fighters also destroyed a military vehicle of the Turkish army in Shara region, killing all soldiers inside the vehicle.

Also in the past 24 hours, a number of pro-Syrian government forces were killed in Turkish airstrikes on Northern Syria as Turkey's army is trying hard to complete the siege of Afrin, media reports said.

At least 8 pro-government forces were killed in the Turkish airstrikes on a border passage of refugees in Kimar village near Afrin, the Arabic-language al-Mayadeen TV channel reported.

The Turkish air raids on Kimar came as this region is said to have been handed over to the Syrian army by the Kurdish forces on the basis of an agreement.

Hama

Militants in more regions in Hama province handed over their weapons to relevant officials and ended fight against the Syrian Army, the Russian Defense Ministry announced in its latest report on Wednesday.

The ministry said that militants in Havayez, al-Huweija and al-Shariyeh in Hama province handed over their arms and joined the nationwide reconciliation plan.

The ministry said that the total number of towns, regions and villages that have thus far joined peace with the army stands at 2,434 now.

Also in the past 24 hours, a sum of eight terrorist groups started a large-scale attack on the Syrian government forces' positions in Northern Hama in order to deflate pressure on their comrades in Eastern Ghouta.

Websites close to the militant groups reported that the terrorists of eight terrorist groups, including Jeish al-Ezzeh, Jeish al-Ahrar, Jeish al-Thani, Jeish al-Nokhbeh, Jebhat al-Enqaz, Regiment 111, Infantry 1st Division and Syria Tahrir Front (Jbhat al-Tahrir Souriya) have launched a large-scale military assault against the Syrian army in Northern Hama.

The websites noted that the militants' attack is aimed at reducing pressures on the terrorist front in Eastern Damascus.

Also on Wednesday, the Syrian army killed tens of terrorists, including a senior commander, during militants' attack on their positions in Northern Hama.

According to Fars News Agancy, the Syrian army fiercely clashed with terrorists who had attacked the government forces' positions in the surrounding areas of Karnaza and al-Hamimat villages in Northwestern Aleppo.

Battlefield sources reiterated that the army troops killed tens of terrorists and destroyed their military equipment in the clashes.

Meantime, Syria's Tahrir Front said its commander Mohammad Khatab was also killed in clashes with the Syrian army in Northern Hama.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian army continued its mop-up operations in the newly-liberated areas from the ISIL in Eastern Deir Ezzur and seized a Turkish coins minting factory of the terrorist group there.

The Syrian army while cleaning different areas of the town of Hasarat in Eastern Bu Kamal in Southeastern Deir Ezzur found a workshop of the ISIL used for manufacturing coins from copper and silver alloys.

Battlefield sources, meantime, reported that the workshop had several rooms and had been built 10 meters deep underground, reiterating that the workshop tools and systems were all made in Turkey.

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