Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army Starts Operations to Isolate Terrorists' Stronghold in Eastern Qalamoun

Rasa - The government forces started a fresh phase of operations to drive a wedge between terrorist bastions in Eastern Qalamoun region of Damascus after the latter didn’t accept to withdraw from al-Rahibeh.

News ID: 437278

Date: 20 April 2018 - 19:37

RNA - The terrorists' positions in al-Batra mountain in Eastern Qalamoun were pounded by the Syrian Air Force on Thursday.

The terrorists sustained heave losses and casualties in the attacks by the Syrian army and air force.

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

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

Damascus

The Syrian army initiated a fresh phase of operations to drive a wedge between terrorist bastions in Eastern Qalamoun region of Damascus after the latter didn’t accept to withdraw from al-Rahibeh.

The Syrian Air Force pounded the terrorists' positions and roads in al-Batra mountain in Eastern Qalamoun on Thursday.

The Syrian ground forces also engaged in clashes with the terrorists in al-Kharnoubeh in East of al-Rahibeh region.

Field sources said that the army's military operations have focused on al-Batra mountains which overlook al-Rahibeh and the adjacent areas, adding that the Syrian army intends to isolate al-Rahibeh from other nearby regions.

Reports also said that a large number of residents of the towns and villages in Eastern Qalamoun have called for the Syrian army's deployment in the region.

The Syrian army started operations in al-Rahibeh after Ahmad al-Abdu and Jeish al-Tahrir al-Sham terrorist groups rejected agreement with the government.

Meantime, hundreds of Jeish al-Islam terrorists left the town of al-Dumayr towards Jarabulus in Northern Syria after an agreement between the Syrian army and the militants in the region.

Field sources reported on Thursday that Jeish al-Islam militants along with their family members left al-Dumayr region in Eastern Qalamoun on 21 buses towards the first checkpoint to move towards Jarabulus.

They added that the terrorists still continue surrendering their weapons to the Syrian army.

Also, Humeimim-based Russian Reconciliation Center announced that Jeish al-Islam's surrendering in al-Dumayr region is a new victory against the US in Syria, stressing that Washington clearly supplied the terrorist groups with intelligence, weapons and safe roads to flee.

The Jeish al-Islam terrorist group handed over its heavy weapons to the Syrian Army troops on Wednesday within the framework of an agreement to leave al-Dumayr region for the town of Jarabulus in Northern Syria.

The terrorists delivered their heavy weapons and military hardware, including five armored vehicles, BMP vehicles, missile launching pads and cannons to the army following an evacuation agreement that allows militants to leave al-Dumayr for Jarabulus in Northeastern Aleppo.

In the meantime, a sum of 1,500 Jeish al-Islam militants along with 3,500 family members are to leave al-Dumayr for Jarabulus.

Those militants that do not want to be relocated to Jarabulus are allowed to apply for government amnesty.

Hasaka

Tens of civilians were detained by the Kurdish militias as public protests against the US-backed militants are escalating in Hasaka province.

Local sources in Northeastern Hasaka reported on Thursday that the Kurdish militants have detained dozens of civilians in the village of Bazouneh near the town of al-Qahtaniyeh, most of them elderly people.

They added that the measure was adopted after civilians prevented capture of 3 defected militants who had earlier been forcefully recruited by the Kurdish militias.

Idlib

A notorious commander of Syria's Tahrir Front was killed in Idlib as infighting has heightened between the terrorist group and its rival, Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front), in Northern Syria.

According to Fars News Agancy, field sources reported on Thursday that the terrorist commander, namely Abu Hafas Karnaz, was killed along with a number of his comrades by Tahrir al-Sham militants near the village of Tarmala in Southern Idlib.

Meantime, Syria's Tahrir Front launched a surprise attack on Tahrir al-Sham terrorists in the village of Haas in Southern Idlib, holding captive one of the terrorist group's commanders named Abu Abdolkarim.

Clashes between the two rival terrorist groups continue in Southern Idlib and Western Aleppo.

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