TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army made major advances in Douma, a city about 10 km Northeast of Damascus, and regained control over significant parts of the region.


Foreign-backed militants suffered heavy losses, as the Syrian Army made major advances against the armed groups in the Damascus suburb of Douma.

A military source said that the army soldiers advanced in Douma on Saturday, inflicting massive losses on the rebels.

Also other reports said on Saturday that the Syrian armed forces regained full control of a strategic area near the capital, Damascus, as they continue to gain more ground in the fight against Takfiri militants.

The Syrian army engaged in fierce fighting with the Takfiri terrorists operating in the Ein Tarma valley, located in the Eastern al-Ghouta region, and managed to push them back from the area.

During their mop-up operations in the valley, Syrian soldiers confiscated weapons and medical equipment in a hideout earlier used by the extremists.

The Ein Tarma valley is strategically important to the Takfiri groups as it connects militant-held towns to safe zones near the capital.

�Since early hours of the morning, our troops took control of the Ein Tarma valley,� said a Syrian army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, adding, �By pushing back the militants, we prevented mortar attacks on nearby areas.�

Also in the last 24 hours, the Syrian Kurdish fighters put up a fierce fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists in the Syrian border town of Kobani on Saturday, and managed to repel several of their attacks on the strategic town.

"Clashes were focused in the Southern and Eastern parts of the town. We thwarted several of their (ISIL terrorist) attacks," a senior Kurdish official, Ismet Sheikh Hasan said.

"We are defending (the town) but ... we have only simple weapons and they (terrorists) have heavy weapons," he added.

"The US-led airstrikes were not effective," Hasan said, urging the international community and the United Nations to intervene.

Kobani, Syria's largest Kurdish city, has seen intense battles over the past three weeks as ISIL terrorists are trying to seize the city due to its strategic location.

Meantime, the ISIL terrorists executed a cameraman works for an Iraqi television channel and three of his relatives in Iraq's Central province of Salahuddin on Friday, a provincial police source said.

Raad al-Azzawi, 37, cameraman for local news Sama Salahuddin satellite channel, was kidnapped about a month ago with his brother and two relatives by the ISIL terrorists for alleged collaboration with Iraqi security forces, the source said.

Media reports also said yesterday that the Syrian Armed Forces scored major gains in the strategic town of Jobar, Damascus, killing several members of al-Nusra Front terrorist group.

The army soldiers struck heavy blow at the terrorists, killing more than 15 members of the terrorist group.

Meantime, Turkey agreed on Saturday to allow the training of at least 2,000 Syrian opposition fighters on Turkish soil by American and Turkish special forces, Turkish officials said, as the ISIL militants came closer to capturing the Syrian city of Kobani.

Turkey has long balked at allowing such training on its territory.

Also in the last 24 hours, the Syrian army managed to retake control of 8 villages in Reef Aleppo, Northern Syria.

Meantime, after the media reports claimed that the ISIL has gained control over 40% of Kobani city, the Kurdish fighters intensified their battle and killed at least 68 ISIL terrorists by Saturday evening.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs and terrorists against both the army and civilians.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle-East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.

By Fars News Agency

 

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