Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Russian Warplanes Pound Terrorists' Strongholds in Idlib Province

Rasa - Several militant centers were targeted and hit by the Russian Air Force in the Western part Idlib province near the Syria-Turkey border on Saturday.

News ID: 437063

Date: 01 April 2018 - 22:00

RNA - The Russian fighter jets carried out a series of combat flights over the Western part of Idlib province yesterday.

The Russian army aircraft launched a heavy barrage of airstrikes over the positions of Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) near the key town of Jisr al-Shughour near Lattakia-Turkey border.

The fighter jets conducted over 30 airstrikes over Idlib province.

Meantime, the Syrian army continued its military advances in other parts of Syria over past 24 hours.

Tens of terrorists were killed and dozens more were injured during the Syrian army's operations in provinces across Syria.

Idlib

The Russian Air Force carried out a series of combat flights over the Western part of Idlib province on Saturday, targeting several militant centers near the Turkish border.

The Russian army aircraft launched a heavy barrage of airstrikes over the positions of Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at near the key town of Jisr al-Shughour near Lattakia-Turkey border.

In addition to targeting Jisr al-Shughour, the warplanes also struck a Shari’ah (religious) Court of the Tahrir al-Sham near the town of al-Dana.

The airstrikes came after reports that the militants in Idlib were preparing to launch an offensive against the Syrian Army in the region.

Reports from an online flight-tracking source said on Friday that two new Russian Air Force fighter jets arrived at Humeimim military airport in Western Syria.

The source said that the fighter aircraft, identified as Su-34s, appear to have arrived at Humeimim during some point on Tuesday afternoon; the aircraft were escorting a Tu-154 which also landed at the Russian base.

It is unclear if the three aircraft have come to Syria as part of a combat deployment or are only stopping briefly in the country en route another location.

Damascus

A large number of militants and their family members left Eastern Ghouta for Northern Aleppo on Friday, military sources said on Saturday.

The sources said that the seventh batch of militants and their family members comprised of 3,614 people from the Eastern Ghouta towns of Zmelka, Harasta, ‘Ayn Terma and Arbin departed on a total number of 75 buses for the Northern Aleppo town of ‘Afrin.

The last batch of militants and their family are expected to depart from Eastern Ghouta on Saturday; once completed, the Syrian Army will be in full control of the Southern and Central pockets of this region.

A field source said on Friday that more than 143,000 people were evacuated from terrorist-held regions in Eastern Ghouta through safe corridors set up by the Syrian Army by Thursday night.

The source said that the army opened 4 safe corridors in Jisreen, Hammouriyeh, al-Wafedeen Camp and Harasta to secure the exit of civilians besieged by the terrorist groups in the Eastern Ghouta area.

The sources further said that another corridor was opened in Arbin on Saturday to evacuate terrorists and their families from Ein Terma, Zmelka, Arbin and Jobar and transport them to Idlib province.

Six groups of militants and their families had left for Idlib.

A sum of 128 buses carrying 7,003 people, including 1,243 terrorists from Jobar, Zmelka, Arbin and Ein Terma in Eastern Ghouta, headed for Idlib under the supervision of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

The source went on to say that over 143,000 people left Eastern Ghouta for safe regions that are under the army's control via safe corridors till Thursday night.

Aleppo

The Syrian Army troops have found a mass grave in the Eastern districts of Aleppo city that contains the bodies of tens of military men believed to have been executed by the terrorists, a military source said on Saturday.

The source said that the army discovered the mass grave inside of the once jihadist-occupied al-Sukkari district in the Eastern part of Aleppo city.

The sources further said that the mass grave contained 37 bodies that are believed to be the army soldiers who were executed by the terrorists before they fled the area.

The terrorists surrendered al-Sukkari district in December 2016; since their departure, the Syrian government has worked to restore the area.

Meantime, the Turkish military said in a statement on Saturday that a total number of 3,820 Kurdish militants have been killed or held captive since the start of Operation Olive Branch in Syria's Afrin region.

The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces said 52 Turkish soldiers have been killed while 229 others wounded since the beginning of the Afrin operation, Anadolu reported.

According to Fars News Agency, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on January 20 to clear the Kurdish militants from Afrin in Northwestern Syria.

On March 18, Turkish-backed troops captured the town of Afrin, which had been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since 2012.

The army said at least 90 militants were killed or held captive in Turkey's Eastern Bitlis and Bingol, and Southeastern Diyarbakir and Mardin provinces, and in Northern Iraq from March 24-30.

The military added that the Turkish forces also seized a large amount of ammunition, including rifles, rocket projectors, grenades, ammonium nitrate and C-4 explosive, during the operations.

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