Syria army inflicts heavy losses on terrorists

The Syrian army has kept up its operations against foreign-backed militants across the country, inflicting heavy losses on them.

The army says it has killed a number of militants in the city of Duma near the Syrian capital Damascus.

Several members of the al-Qaeda-linked group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are said to be among the dead.

The army also says several commanders of the terrorist al-Nusra Front group were killed in northwestern city of Idlib, near the border with Turkey.

In the northern city of Aleppo, government forces have attacked insurgent positions, inflicting heavy losses on them.

Meanwhile, the opposition says Syrian warplanes have pounded targets in the suburbs of the flashpoint city.

Reports suggest scores of militants have been killed since the army launched a massive assault on militant-held areas in Aleppo on Sunday.

The Syrian army has conducted several successful mop-up operations in several areas across the Arab country in recent months.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.