Syrian troops inflict heavy losses on foreign-backed militants

The Syrian Army says it has inflicted heavy losses on foreign-backed militants who are fighting against the government in different parts of the country.

Syrian government forces launched attacks against militants in the Damascus suburbs of al-Nabek, al-Sbaineh, and Nabil al-Utmeh on Sunday and killed a large number of them, the official SANA news agency reported.

In the town of Daraya, near Damascus, an army unit carried out a special operation against “a terrorist gathering” southeast of the shrine of Sayeda Sakina in which eight “terrorists” were killed.

Syrian government forces also launched attacks against militants in the governorates of Idlib, Homs, Deir ez-Zor, Latakia, Aleppo on Sunday and killed a large number of them.

In addition, the Syrian armed forces captured many machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, hand-made rockets, mortar shells, and anti-tank missiles.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if foreign-sponsored rebels fighting against the Syrian government take power in his country they could destabilize the entire Middle East for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he added.