Heroic Syrian army makes more gains amid Western attack threats

The Syrian army forces have attacked the positions of foreign-backed terrorists in the town of al-Sabinah, located south of the capital, Damascus, Press TV reports.

On Thursday, the army units managed to regain control of two major neighborhoods of al-Shurta and Kom al-Hajar in the southern countryside of Damascus.

A Syrian commander told press TV that the Takfiri groups operating in the recaptured areas were surprised by the army operation, which killed many of the militants.

The army says it now has nearly half of al-Sabinah under its control.

The army also announced that it gained full control of farms in the city of Palmyra near the capital.

Meanwhile, a car bomb explosion hit a military checkpoint in Nabak, another area in the countryside, on the same day.

On August 28, Syrian army forces carried out military operations in Palmyra.

On August 21, the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that hundreds had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

A number of Western and Arab countries have also accused Damascus of carrying out the attack.

However, the Syrian government has denied the allegations as baseless.

Since August 27, speculations have become stronger about the possibility of a military attack on Syria.

The UK parliament on Thursday voted against a motion by British Prime Minister David Cameron to authorize military action against Syria.

Washington says it is willing to carry out an attack against Syria without the approval of the UN or its allies.