Syrian army turns focus to regaining full control of Homs

The Syrian army has turned its focus to regaining control over those last areas of the western city of Homs that are still under the control of the foreign-backed Takfiri militants, Press TV reports.

The Syrian forces regained control of the strategic Khaldiyeh District of Homs on Wednesday. The army managed to recapture the district after one month of battle with the militants.

“We have cleared Khaldiyeh. The shots you are hearing are sniper shots from outside the district, from Varsha, Qarabis, and Jouret el-Shayah. From here, we will press ahead to those areas, but snipers are slowing us down…,” a Syrian soldier told Press TV.

On July 28, the Syrian army announced that it had gained control of most of Khaldiyeh, a day after Syrian forces captured the district’s Khalid bin Walid Mosque.

The army said the militants had been using the mosque as a bastion and had planted tens of explosive devices inside the building.

“We are now in the east of Khalid bin Walid Mosque, after we concluded our operation in Khaldiyeh and pushed the armed men into other districts of the old city. We will chase them there. We eliminated many of them here and as the operation goes on, we will eliminate their remnants who are currently present in Qarabis and Varsha districts,” said another Syrian soldier.

In June, Syrian forces launched a mop-up operation in Homs to recapture the areas held by the militants.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011.

According to the reports, the West and its regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.