Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army Discovers Terrorists' Tunnel Network in Southern Damascus

Rasa - One of the largest tunnels dug by the terrorists in Syria was discovered by the government troops in Southern Damascus.

News ID: 437639

Date: 12 May 2018 - 20:52

RNA - "The tunnel was uncovered by the army men inside the Madaniyah district in Hajar al-Aswad region in the Southern part of Damascus province," field sources said .

The tunnel was built to link the Eastern Ghouta to Western Ghouta. It is known as the “The Gate of the Two Ghoutas".

Damascus

The Syrian Army troops uncovered one of the largest tunnels dug by terrorists in Syria in their mop-up operation inside the town of Hajar Al-Aswad, field sources reported on Friday.

The sources said that the tunnel was uncovered by the army men inside the Madaniyah district in Hajar al-Aswad region in the Southern part of Damascus province .

The tunnel is known as the “The Gate of the Two Ghoutas as it was built to link Eastern Ghouta to Western Ghouta.

The tunnel itself is nearly 1 km long and goes under the Damascus-Dara’a Highway.

Despite constructing most of the tunnel, they were never able to finish the project because they eventually lost Darayya and other West Ghouta towns.

In a similar development on Tuesday, the army discovered huge quantities of weapons and ammunition storage in the former rebel bastion town of Jobar, East of the capital.

The arms and ammunition were hidden underneath a building.

The discovered weapons – used by Faylaq al-Rahman terror group – include mortar shells, RPGs, assault rifles and explosive devices.

Idlib

The Russian Air Force carried out a fresh round of combat flights over terrorist-held regions in Idlib province, inflicting major losses on the militants.

The Russian warplanes bombed terrorists' positions heavily, specifically the positions of Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) near the towns of Naqir and Maar Zita in Southern Idlib.

According to pro-opposition accounts, the fighter jets were using bunker buster high explosive bombs to target Tahrir Al-Sham's bases.

Deir Ezzur

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued advancing against the ISIL in the Eastern province of Deir Ezzur and managed to capture more regions on Friday.

The SDF managed to advance a dozen kilometers against ISIL in Eastern Deir Ezzur, putting them within the striking distance in Hajin region.

“The distance between ISIL and us is roughly 200 meters,” said Haval Bahoz, an SDF fighter.

According to Fars News Agency, a militant-affiliated website reported on Tuesday that tens of militants defected the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces only one week after the SDF alleged fresh attacks on ISIL's positions in the Eastern province of Deir Ezzur.

Smart news website reported that sixty gunmen of al-Shoaytat Tribe defected the SDF and retreated from contact lines with ISIL in the villages and settlements of Granij, al-Bahra, Jubb al-Bahra and Hajin.

It further said that the defection was a result of discrimination between Araba and Kurds among the SDF ranks, adding that the defected gunmen handed over their arms and ammunition and vowed not to take part in any military operation led by the SDF.

Growing differences have been on rise between the SDF and the US-backed gunmen known as the Special Forces in Eastern Syria.

847/940