Syrian Troops Seize Control of Strategic Highway

The Syrian army has secured on Sunday the highway that links Damascus with northern Syria.

Syrian armyGovernment troops launched an offensive last month in the rugged Qalamoun region north of Damascus in an attempt to secure the main north-south highway that runs through the area and to cut militant supply lines that crisscross the mountainous terrain.

Fighting in the area had left the road cut for nearly three weeks, but government forces reopened the road Sunday after seizing control of most of the contested town of Nabek that is located along the highway, said the director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdurrahman.

“It is open but not secure,” Abdurrahman added, saying the route remains “dangerous” because it is still under militants’ fire.

According to media reports, Damascus-Homs highway has been secured by the army.

Sunday’s fighting focused in the town of Nabek near the Lebanon border. Syrian troops managed to capture most of the town in heavy fighting, the Observatory said.

Videos from inside the town showed bodies of fighters in the streets as well as four booby-trapped vehicles.

Also on Sunday, Lebanon’s National News Agency said three Syrians were detained near the Lebanese border town of Arsal while on their way to Qalamoun. It said the three were detained after midnight Sunday and had light weapons and telecommunications equipment with them.

The Lebanese army later issued a statement saying troops detained another four Syrians who were trying to cross from Syria to Lebanon in a car that had no license plate. It said the soldier found weapons, including several hand grenades, in the car.

Source: Al-Manar Website