Syria in the Last 24 Hours: Terrorists Block Civilians’ Exit from Idlib via Humanitarian Corridor

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

Syria in the Last 24 Hours: Terrorists Block Civilians’ Exit from Idlib via Humanitarian Corridor

Terrorists Block Civilians’ Exit from Idlib via Humanitarian Corridor

TEHRAN (FNA)- Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) terrorists are blocking exit of the civilian population from Southeastern Idlib via a humanitarian corridor set up by the Syrian Army.

Tahrir al-Sham has blocked men, specially the youth, at the gates to Abu al-Dhohour corridor in an apparent move to use the civlian population as a shield against an impending major assault by the Syrian army.

Tahrir al-Sham has also seized vehicles of the residents to prevent their possible riding escape to government-controlled regions.

People in Idlib had been calling on the army to set up a safe corridor for them to leave the terrorist-held regions.

The Syrian and Russian force managed to open Abu al-Dhohour passageway on Monday to ease evacuation of the people.

In the meantime, terrorists failed on Saturday to evacuate people from regions near the positions of the Syrian Army in Aleppo province to settle them in regions deep in the militant-held territories to prevent the spread of the growing public support for the army and implementation of a reconciliation plan in Northwestern Syria.

Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at gave a two-day ultimatum to the residents of the villages of Jazraya, al-Othmaniyeh, Howeir al-Eis, Zamar, Jadida Talafaj, Banes, Tal Bajer and Barnah near the positions of the army forces to leave their region.

Tahrir al-Sham has declared the villages near army positions as military zone to prevent people from joining the peace agreement.

Villagers defied the call, stating to Tahrir al-Sham through their local councils that they will never leave their home.

Tahrir al-Sham has recently arrested a number of people, accusing them of promoting the army’s peace plan.

Hundreds of displaced civilians return to their houses via Abu al-Dhuhour corridor

20 August، 2018
Aleppo, SANA

Hundreds of civilians who had been displaced from their houses in towns and villages in the southern countryside of Aleppo Province are turning back after the Syrian Arab Army had cleansed them of terrorism.

The displaced civilians are coming from the areas under control of terrorist organizations in Idleb Province through Abu al-Dhuhour corridor towards their houses in the liberated towns and villages.SANA reporter said that civilians are coming on foot, by cars and tractors via the Abu al-Dhuhour corridor, to the far southeast of Idleb countryside, adding that a medical point was provided by the authorities under supervision of Syrian Arab Red Crescent and Internal Security Forces to supply the returnees with health, relief and food aid.

Syrian Military Intelligence Officer Assassinated

TEHRAN (FNA)- A Syrian military intelligence officer has reportedly been assassinated in the West-Central Hama Province, the second such killing in two weeks blamed on Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

Reports said Ahmad Issa Habib, who was in charge of the Syrian army’s Palestine department, had been shot in the head in the village of Ba’arin, presstv reported.

There were contradictory reports on whether the unknown assailants had targeted the victim in his car or at his home.

Israel’s Army Radio quoted Syrian opposition sources as saying that Habib was “responsible for the struggle against Israel”.

Damascus is yet to comment on the assassination reports.

On April 4, Aziz Azbar, the head of the Syrian Scientific Research and Studies Center in the Hama city of Masyaf, was assassinated in a car bombing.

A senior official from a Middle Eastern intelligence agency told The New York Times that Mossad had a hand in the targeted killing.

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said his agency had been informed of the operation, and that Mossad had been tracking Azbar for a long time.

Some reports said the killing of the scientist was part of Israel’s campaign of aggression aimed at preventing Syria from rehabilitating its defense capabilities when the crisis in the Arab country comes to an end.

Israel frequently attacks military targets inside Syria in an attempt to prop up terrorist groups that have been suffering defeats against Syrian government forces.

The regime has also been providing weapons to anti-Damascus militants as well as medical treatment to Takfiri elements wounded in Syria.

Army units destroy hideouts of terrorists in Hama, thwart an attack in Idleb

20 August، 2018
Hama, Idleb

An army unit foiled a terrorist attack on a military post on the road of the Deserted Battalion to the south of Tal al-Touqan town in the southeastern countryside of Idleb province after fierce clashes leaving most of the terrorist group either killed or injured.

SANA reporter said that an army unit targeted terrorists’ gatherings and hideouts at the western outskirts of Tal al-Khanajer town in Hama Province after observing activities of digging and fortification by the terrorists in that areas.

Army Sends Long Military Column to Deir Ezzur Desert

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Damascus Army dispatched more troops and equipment to Badiyeh (desert) of Deir Ezzur over the past 24 hours to reinvigorate the government forces against the remaining pockets of the ISIL terrorists in the province.

A large convoy of forces from the town of al-Mayadeen was moved by the army on the Western bank of the Euphrates River towards al-Dowayer and al-Kashama regions along the road to the town of Albu Kamal in Southeastern Deir Ezzur to reinvigorate the government forces’ positions in Badiyeh of Deir Ezzur.

Meantime, the Syrian army continued its military advances in other parts of Syria over past 24 hours.

Tens of terrorists were killed and dozens more were injured during the Syrian army’s operations in provinces across Syria.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian Army forwarded more troops and equipment to Badiyeh of Deir Ezzur on Sunday to reinvigorate the government forces against the remaining pockets of ISIL terrorists in the province.

The army moved a large convoy of forces from the town of al-Mayadeen on the Western bank of the Euphrates River towards al-Dowayer and al-Kashama regions along the road to the town of Albu Kamal in Southeastern Deir Ezzur to reinvigorate the government forces’ positions in Badiyeh of Deir Ezzur.

The army’s convoy included hundreds of soldiers, hundreds of military and armored vehicles and a large volume of logistics.

In the meantime, the army men engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL on Saturday in Badiyeh of al-Sabikhan and Albu Kamal region in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, repelling the terrorists’ offensives after inflicting heavy casualties on them.

Homs

The Syrian Army men, backed up by the country’s Air Force, fended off ISIL’s heavy attack in the Eastern Badiyeh of Homs on Sunday, inflicting major losses on the terrorists.

The army forces engaged in a tough battle with ISIL Southeast of al-Bardeh region in the Eastern Badiyeh of Homs.

In the meantime, the army aircraft pounded ISIL’s positions and movements in al-Bardeh and also near the T2 Oil Pumping Station and Aweiraz Dam, damaging the terrorists’ bases and military equipment.

ISIL suffered heavy casualties and pulled back the remaining pockets of its militants from the battlefield.

A military source said earlier this month that the army men conducted a mop-up operation in Houleh region in Northern Homs, discovering a large depot of terrorists’ arms and ammunition, adding that PKC machineguns, sniper rifles made by the western states as well as Israeli grenades were among the seized weapons and munitions.

Hasaka

A new convoy of weapons and military equipment was sent to the US bases in areas occupied by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasaka.

Field sources in Eastern Syria reported on Sunday that the convoy was dispatched from Simalka passageway at the borders with Iraq to the SDF-occupied areas in Hasaka province in Northeastern Syria.

They added that the convoy consisted of 90 tightly covered trucks which were sent to the US bases in al-Shadadi and Tal Tamar.

The US has accelerated dispatch of military convoys to Northern Syria in the past few days.

Sweida

The Syrian Army soldiers repelled a heavy attack launched by ISIL terrorists to break the government forces’ siege in the Eastern Badiyeh of Sweida on Sunday.

A group of ISIL terrorists who tried to prevail over the army positions in Arz Amirah in Toloul al-Safa region came under an ambush operation by the government forces and suffered several casualties.

At least five ISIL terrorists were captured too.

In the meantime, other units of the army stormed ISIL from three flanks in Toloul al-Safa and managed to advance one kilometer.

Also, the army’s artillery and missile units opened heavy fire at ISIL’s movements and positions in Toloul al-Safa and inflicted major losses on the terrorists.

Idlib

The Turkish Army has adopted initial steps to deploy 5,000 foreign terrorists in a region in Western Idlib, a Russian media said Sunday.

The Arabic-language website of Sputnik reported that the Turkish army has provided support for 5,000 Chinese Uygur terrorists from al-Turkistani Islamic Party to deploy in the village of al-Zanbaqi near the town of Darkoush in Jisr al-Shughour region in Western Idlib near the border with Turkey.

It said that the terrorists have turned Western Idlib into their main command center after they forced civilians and villagers to leave their home in 2015, adding that the occupied region includes several small towns, bases and logistical buildings overlooking a large flank from Northeastern Lattakia to Southern Idlib and Northern Hama.

It went on to say that the largest population of Turkistani, Chinese and Uygur terrorists is in Idlib, adding that their total number along with their family members stands at over 18,000.

It said that foreign terrorists in Idlib province are fully supported by Ankara, adding that the Turkish troops have increased movements between the terrorist-held village and military training camps of al-Turkistani after Turkish soldiers set up their truce- monitoring points in Idlib province, specially in Jisr al-Shughour region.

The report said that the Turkish army’s watch towers are only 200 meters away from the militant-held villages.

Iraqi Air Force Destroys ISIL Operation Room in Eastern Syria

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iraqi Air Force carried out a fresh airstrike against ISIL, damaging the terrorists’ Operation Room in Badiyeh of Deir Ezzur at Syria’s border with Iraq, Iraqi Army Command Staff announced in a statement on Monday.

The statement said that an Iraqi F16 fighter jet pounded ISIL’s Operation Room in the Eastern Badiyeh of Deir Ezzur last night.

It further said that a number of ISIL terrorists, including several commanders, were killed in the raid.

In the meantime, an Iraqi intelligence official announced that the destroyed Operation Room reorganized ISIL terrorists in recent weeks to carry out suicide attacks against military and non-military targets.

The Iraqi military announced on Thursday that they had launched airstrikes on ISIL in Syrian territory amid Damascus’ efforts to eliminate the last pockets of the terrorist group.

“Fulfilling the orders of the commander-in-chief of the (Iraqi) Armed Forces … Iraqi F-16 jets successfully carried out an airstrike on the Syrian territory,” the statement said.

As the Iraqi military reported Thursday, the country’s jets destroyed an ISIL “operations room” in Syria, killing several fighters.

“According to intelligence, those terrorists who were killed were planning criminal operations using suicide vests and intended to target civilians in the next few days inside Iraq,” the military said in a statement.

According to a recently released UN report, approximately 30,000 ISIL members are operating in Iraq and Syria despite having lost the overwhelming majority of the territory they occupied over the past few years. A lot of them are believed to be in hiding or keeping an otherwise low profile.

The report, however, has failed to mention the presence of al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, who have been fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad for years.

Iraq has been carrying airstrikes against ISIL’s positions in Syria with the authorization of the Syrian government. Meanwhile, Syrian government military forces are continuing their offensive against the remaining terrorists in Syria.