Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Makes Major Advances in Aleppo Countryside

The Syrian army made major advances in Aleppo countryside in the Northern parts of the country.

The army units pushed back the terrorists from Al-Amerieh and Al-Ramouseh regions in Aleppo countryside.

Also, the Syrian air force and artillery destroyed the gathering centers of the militants in Aleppo city.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army killed a notorious Al-Qaeda commander in Idlib countryside in Northwestern parts of the country.

Abu Mosab Saraqeb, commander of Jund Al-Aqsa militant group, was killed by the army units in Khan Sheikhoun region.

Jund Al-Aqsa is among the most important and most influential terrorist groups in Idlib countryside.

Elsewhere, the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups engaged in fierce clashes in Deir Ezzur to take control over thee oil rigs in there.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al-Nusra Front had bloody battles around the city of Al-Basireh to take control over Koniko and Al-Azbeh oil rigs.

Meantime the ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front clashed in Deir Ezzur deserts to regain control of Abu Hobab oil rig.

Also, the Syrian forces gained the upper hand over foreign-backed militants across the country, including in Homs, Daraa and Idlib, after a series of operations in the last few days.

A military source told the Syrian state news agency that the army stormed militant groups in the villages of Slam Gharbi, Om al-Reesh and al-Jabriyeh in the Eastern countryside of Homs, killing too many rebels there.

The source added that the army also targeted insurgents in al-Bardeh area and the farms surrounding it in Palmyra where scores of foreign-backed fighters were killed and so many others fled the battlefields.

Syrian armed forces, in heavy clashes with militants in the villages and towns of Nawa, Tal al-Jumou’, Jellin, al-Mzeireeb, Dael, Atman and al-Rusoum in al-Lajat area and in Kherbet Mama in the countryside of Daraa, killed a large number of rebels.

Two long conveys of vehicles in the village of Um al-Awsaj and al-Mseifra were also destroyed by the Syrian soldiers.

In Idlib, army units targeted and killed many terrorists in the villages and towns of al-Bsheiriyeh, Kherbet al-Jouz in Jisr al-Shughour area and in Huloul, Jabal al-Arbaeen, Kfarnubul, Kfarroumeh, Binnesh and M’artamsarin and al-Hamidiyeh in the countryside.

Elsewhere, the Syrian Army staged a series of operations against militants’ hideouts and concentration camps in different regions across Damascus countryside, killing and wounding too many anti-government fighters in battlefield.

A military source told the Syrian state news agency that the Syrian soldiers targeted several groups of militant in Jobar neighborhood, killing and injuring many of them, and retook control of a number areas in the region.

Also, a long convoy of vehicles loaded with weapons and ammunition were destroyed in the army’s attacks in al-Meliha neighborhood.

The source added that so many insurgents were killed in the above-mentioned army’s attack, including Daher al-Homsi and Ezz-Eddin al-Shrar.

Meantime, Harasta neighborhood was the scene of heavy clashes between rebels and the Syrian troops who successfully killed and wounded scores of foreign-backed militants, including Mohammad Luzeh.

The source added that an army unit destroyed rebels’ dens in the Industrial Area in Douma.

In Erbin town, another army unit stormed militants’ gatherings, killing and injuring scores of them.

Meantime, suicide bombers blew up two vehicles in central Syria on Friday, killing at least 18 people, including 11 children, state media reported.

Two car bombs in Syria’s central province of Hama killed 18 people, including 11 children, and wounded 50 others on Friday, state television said.

It said the “terrorist explosions” took place in the towns of Jibrin, a few miles (km) Northeast of Hama city, and al-Hamairi.

They come three days after attacks on government-controlled areas of Homs and Damascus which killed more than 100 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The attacks followed Monday’s announcement that President Bashar al-Assad will seek a third term in office in a June 3 election.

Registration for Syria’s contentious June 3 presidential vote was wrapped up with 24 contenders, including President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian parliament announced.

Parliament Speaker Jihad al-Laham announced that the names of the last seven people who have registered their candidacies at the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) before the deadline of Thursday afternoon.

The 10-day registration for the elections started on April 22, triggering a barrage of criticism by the opposition and their Western backers.

By law, each runner for the elections must secure the backing of 35 parliamentarians of the 254-member parliament, a condition limiting the number of those who would eventually be declared candidates as each lawmaker is permitted to back one candidate only.

Voting for Syrians inside the country will start on June 3, while those overseas will cast their votes on May 28.

Hisham Sha’ar, who heads the Syrian supreme committee for presidential elections, said recently that Syrians left the country illegally can’t cast their ballots.

Government officials say President Bashar al-Assad is the “real guarantee” for the future of Syria and that it is very likely that he will be re-elected for a third seven-year term.