News / Syria

Syrian army liberates Homs areas from Daesh grip

Thursday, 25 May 2017 3:34 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 25 May 2017 3:35 PM ]

This photo released by official SANA news agency shows Syrian army soldiers flashing the victory sign near their tank in the Sukkari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Dec. 23, 2016. (Photo by AP)

The Syrian military says it has managed to regain control of areas in Homs Province and purge them of Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

The army declared the recapture of the districts to the south of the city of Palmyra and to the east of the town of Qaryatayn on Thursday.

Syria's state TV also showed military vehicles, including tanks, driving through the liberated areas.

Meanwhile, a Syrian military source told the official SANA news agency that dozens of Daesh militants had been killed and large quantities of their weapons and ammunition destroyed in the operation.

The fresh gains come as the Syrian forces are advancing near areas held by the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Earlier this month, the Syrian government said it was a priority to recapture the Baida region, a sparsely populated desert territory that stretches all the way to the Jordanian and Iraqi frontiers.

On May 18, US military aircraft struck a convoy of 27 tanks belonging to Syrian forces as they moved to within 24 kilometers of a US garrison in the al-Tanf border crossing.

It was the most direct clash between US-led forces and Syrian troops.

FSA official Said Seif told Reuters that the Syrian troops were trying to preempt US-backed forces' occupation of the city of Dayr al-Zawr.

The Syrian government sought "to widen the security belt around Damascus and also will pave the way for a push towards Dayr al-Zawr before the FSA," he said.

Syrian forces seize US-, Israeli-made arms

In another development on Thursday, SANA reported that the army’s engineering units and the authorities had found US-made missiles and Israeli-made mortar shells in Homs city's al-Waer neighborhood.

People celebrate carrying Syrian national flags inside al-Waer district, Homs, Syria, May 21, 2017, after militants and their families left the neighborhood. (Photo by Reuters)

Among the weapons confiscated were B-10 and LAW missiles, Katyusha rockets, RPG rounds, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), rocket launchers, protective masks, binoculars and sniper and automatic rifles.

The last batch of militants and their families left al-Waer last week and consequently the Syrian government regained full control of Homs.

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