Syrian forces make further gains across the country

Syrian forces patrol eastern Aleppo on December 12, 2016 after troops retook the area from militants. (Photo by AFP)

Syrian government forces have killed a large number of terrorists during their operations to purge the country’s western province of Homs and the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr from Daesh.

According to Syria's official news agency, SANA, the areas of Boyout Jarbou al-Izzo and Abu Tawala, located in the T4 region in Homs, were liberated following heavy clashes with the terrorists on Monday.

Following the operations, which were backed by the Syrian air force, the area was also cleansed of mines and IEDs (improvised explosive device.)

Several strategically-located hills overlooking a major oil pumping station in the region were also retaken from the terrorists.

Meanwhile in Dayr al-Zawr, Syrian forces launched a major operation against terrorist-held positions in the al-Maqaber area located to the south of the city, killing a large number of them and destroying their equipment.

Several armed drones and a piece of heavy artillery belonging to the terrorists was also annihilated.  

During operations in the city’s southwestern area of Panorama, a large amount of armed vehicles belonging to the terrorists was also destroyed.

Syrian air force strikes on the militant held villages of al-Salehiya and al-Bogheilia and in the neighborhoods of al-Ummal and al-Mohandiseen also killed a large number of terrorists and destroyed their equipment.

An all-Syria ceasefire, which has been brokered by Russia and Turkey, forbids fighting across the Arab country’s territory. However, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and its fellow Takfiri terror group of Daesh have been excluded from the agreement due to the barbarity of their actions and their refusal to fall into step with any pacification efforts.

 Read More:

• Syrian forces purge Daesh militants from areas near Aleppo: Report
• ‘Syria forces retake spring near Damascus’

 Russian TU-22M3s bomb Daesh in Dayr al-Zawr

 Also on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that several Daesh-held positions in the city were also targeted and destroyed.

“On January 30, 2017, six strategic Tu-22M3 bombers took off in Russia, flew over Iraq and Iran, and carried out a group air attack on new Daesh targets in the Dayr al-Zawr province," read a statement.

It added that during the strikes two command centers, an amount of weapons and ammunition depots and a large number of military equipment and terrorists were destroyed.

In this photo provided by the Russian Defense Ministry press service, a Russian Su-25 ground attack jet takes off at Hmeimim Air Base in Syria on March 15, 2016. (Photo by AP)

"The destruction of all designated targets has been confirmed by the means of objective monitoring…Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters, which had taken off from the Hmeimim airbase in Syria, provided air cover for the bombers," it added.

Moscow launched its campaign against Daesh and other terror outfits in Syria at the Damascus government’s request in September 2015.  

Over the past almost six years, Syria has been fighting foreign-sponsored militancy. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated in August last year that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the Syrian crisis until then. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.