Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Resumes Anti-Terrorism Operation in Eastern Damascus

The Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at or the Levant Liberation Board) in Eastern Ghouta sustained heavy losses in the army’s attacks.

Meantime, the Syrian army and popular forces continued their military advances in other parts of Syria, including Hama and Deir Ezzur over the past 24 hours.

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

Damascus

The Syrian Army troops restarted hitting positions of Al-Nusra Front in Eastern Ghouta after Faylaq al-Rahman militants left clashes, a military source confirmed on Tuesday.

The source said that the army has resumed its attacks on Al-Nusra in Ein Terma and Jobar regions, adding that the army intends to lay siege on Al-Nusra.

The source further said that the army soldiers have detonated several tunnels that connect Jobar to Ein Terma, adding that the tunnels were main paths for the transfer of military equipment by Al-Nusra.

The source went on to say that the army units have advanced against Al-Nusra in the Southern neighborhoods of Jobar and have reached the terrorists’ positions under the cover of heavy fire of the pro-government forces’ vehicles, forcing Al-Nusra to retreat.

The source pointed out that the army men have advanced in the depth of several buildings and have deployed on the tall buildings of Ataya and Elhameh, imposing strategic control in Jobar.

Hama

The Syrian Army troops stormed ISIL’s defense lines in Eastern Hama on Tuesday, extending the range of their advances and tightening the noose on ISIL terrorists.

The army men clashed with ISIL and drove them out of the town of al-Tayebeh and several positions overlooking Abu Hakfah hill, East of Tal (hill) al-Albawi in Eastern Hama.

A military source said that ISIL lost a number of militants in the army attack, adding that the army has tightened noose on the terrorists in Eastern Hama.

Reports said earlier today that the Syrian Air Force bombed heavily the remaining positions of ISIL in Eastern Hama, inflicting heavy casualties on the terrorists.

The fighter jets targeted ISIL’s defense lines in the town of Aqayrabat and the villages of Rasm al-Abd, Um Meil and in the depth of Badiyeh (desert), killing and wounding a large number of terrorists and destroying their equipment.

Also, a military source said that ISIL has been trying to retreat towards Deir Ezzur after suffering heavy defeats in Aqayrabat region in recent days but they faced heavy bombardments of the warplanes.

In the meantime, the terrorist groups deployed in the outskirts of al-Latamina town in Northern Hama violated the ceasefire by targeting the army’s positions in al-Zalaqiyet.

The army’s artillery units retaliated later and opened heavy fire at terrorists’ positons, killing a number of them and destroying their positions.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian pro-government forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement are ready to launch a large-scale operation on Deir Ezzur border to drive ISIL terrorists out of a vital bastion, a military source said Tuesday.

The source said that the pro-government troops are making final preparations to storm the strategic T-2 Pumping Station along the Western borders of Deir Ezzur province.

Another military source reported that ISIL is facing shortage of fighters in al-Sukhnah region in Eastern Homs while the Syrian pro-government forces have deployed a large number of troops in the same region.

Meantime, local sources reported that the army soldiers, backed up by Syrian and Russian warplanes, have recaptured several points along the al-Sukhnah-Deir Ezzur Highway, liberating over 30km of territory.

The sources further said that the army units has managed to advance to the outskirts of Haloubah following the liberation of Kasrat al-Faraj, Wadi Al-Buwayb, and Jadidat Al-Huwayz regions, reminding that Haloubah is an important town located along the Sukhnah-Deir Ezzur Highway.

A well-informed source said earlier on Tuesday that the army soldiers carried out a night attack on ISIL’s positions in Tal (hill) al-Qariya around Deir Ezzur’s airbase, killing or wounding a number of terrorists and destroying their positions.

The source added that the army seized all the weapons of the ISIL in the attack.

The source went on to say that the army men retuned to their base after the successful attack without any casualties.

Idlib

Unknown assailants have increased assassination operations against the leaders of terrorist groups in Idlib, with the latest case being a field commander of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

According to the Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper, unknown assailants fired at an FSA-affiliated Jeish al-Izza terrorist group’s field commander named Abdo Shokat and his assistant Yahya al-Kharboutli near the road leading to the village of Moqa near Khan Sheikhoun city in Southern Idlib.

Jeish al-Izza issued a statement, accusing the Syrian army and its allies of the assassination attempt, noting that Jeish al-Izza is not pursuing a hostile approach against other groups in Northern Syria.

But the sources affiliated to the terrorists in Idlib said that Jeish al-Izza has accused the Syrian army because it is afraid of al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at or the Levant Liberation Board) – which is the main culprit behind such assassinations – and its annihilation by al-Nusra.