Syrian army troops clear more villages of Takfiri terrorists in Idlib

Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that government troops established control over the villages of al-Hraki and al-Qrati, besides several plots of farm land in Idlib’s southeastern countryside on Sunday.

The capture came after “intense battles” with members of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front, SANA added, noting that army soldiers inflicted heavy losses upon the Takfiri forces.

 A number of the extremists managed to flee to nearby areas, and a search operation is underway to hunt them down, the report added.

Syrian forces have gained ground after a week-long renewed assault against the last terrorists’ enclave in Syria’s northwest, the biggest such push in more than three months.

The Syrian army recently said it had regained control over more than 20 villages and hilltops and was coming close to one of 12 Turkish observation posts in the northwest.

In recent days, Syrian government forces have succeeded in wresting full control over several villages, following heavy exchanges of gunfire with the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorists.

The Takfiris were using the villages as a launching pad for their mortar attacks on areas in southern Idlib, which have returned to government control.

Govt. forces establish control over Musheirifa village in Syria’s IdlibSyrian government forces have established complete control over a village in the northwestern province of Idlib.

On August 5, the Syrian army declared in a statement the start of an offensive against foreign-sponsored militants in Idlib. This came after those positioned in the de-escalation zone failed to honour a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey and continued to target civilian neighborhoods.

Under the Sochi agreement, all militants in the demilitarized zone that surrounds Idlib, and also parts of the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, were supposed to pull out heavy arms by October 17 last year, with the Takfiri groups having to withdraw two days earlier.

The National Front for the Liberation of Syria is the main Turkish-backed militant alliance in the Idlib region, but the Takfiri Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, which is a coalition of different factions of terror outfits largely composed of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, holds a large part of the province and the zone.

The HTS, which is said to be in control of a large part of Idlib, has yet to announce its stance on the buffer zone deal.

Landmine blast kills one civilian in Syria’s Hasaka

In a separate development on Sunday, a landmine left behind by the Takfiri Daesh terrorists in the northeastern province of Hasaka killed at least one civilian and wounded two others.

According to SANA, the mine exploded in the Hamet Marakda area of the southern countryside of Hasaka. 

The injured were reportedly rushed to a nearby hospital to receive necessary treatment.

Landmine blast kills 24 civilians in SyriaA landmine left behind by the Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria’s west-central Hama Province kills 24 civilians.

An armed conflict began in Syria in 2011. But the Syrian military, backed by the Russian air force and Iranian military advisers, have taken back control of most of the areas in Syria that had been held by militant and terrorist groups.