Syrian Army Eyes Yabroud after String of Battlefield Victories

Syrian army continued its operations in Al-Qalamoun area after the liberation of Nabek strategic city while military sources pointed out that the army will turn its sights towards Yabroud, the last militant strongholds in the region.

Syrian armyThe town is believed to be where a group of nuns from the historic Christian hamlet of Maalula have been transferred, reportedly in the hands of terrorists from al-Nusra Front.

In Spain, meanwhile, El Mundo newspaper said Spanish journalists Javier Espinosa and Ricardo Garcia Vilanova have gone missing in northern Syria. The pair are believed to have been kidnapped in September by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but El Mundo’s director Pedro Ramirez said “we believe they are alive and we believe they are well.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces in Qalamoun were shelling Yabroud. Syrian forces have seized Nabak, Deir Attiya and Qara.

The Damascus-Homs highway, a key supply route from the capital to the center of the country, is expected to reopen soon after being closed by the fighting in Qalamoun.