Syria forces kill more terrorists, seize arms

The Syrian Army says it has killed dozens of foreign-backed militants, including several foreigners, and seized their weapons during operations across the country.

Syrian government forces launched attacks against militants in the provinces of Damascus, Deir Ezzor, Homs, Aleppo, Idlib, and Daraa on Sunday and killed a large number of them, the official SANA news agency reported.
In addition, the Syrian armed forces captured many machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, mortar shells, anti-tank missiles and Israeli-made rifles.
The Syrian army has recently conducted successful clean-up operations across the country, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.
Recent investigations by various media outlets have found that the militants are taking amphetamine stimulants to stay on their feet in exhausting battles against Syrian government forces.
Al-Qaeda linked groups are also said to be using stimulant drugs extensively as they launch many attacks at night and are engaged in gruesome battles.
In an interview with Argentina’s Clarin newspaper in May 2013, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said militants from 29 different countries were fighting against the government in different parts of the country.
Assad stated that foreign intervention is the most important factor aggravating the situation in Syria.
A British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.
The extracts of the study by defense consultancy IHS Jane’s were published on September 16, 2013.
IHS Jane’s estimates that some 10,000 militants are fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the rest fight for different militant groups.
The analysis also said that a large number of extremists from foreign countries are active in Syria.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the 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 millions displaced due to the violence.