Army thwarts Takfiri attack on key airport in SW Syria
Syrian army forces have repelled an attack by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists on a strategic military airport in southwestern Syria.
"Militants who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIL) group attacked the outskirts of the Khalkhalah military airport in Sweida Province on Friday," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
According to reports, the Syrian forces killed 15 of the terrorists during the Friday clashes, which also left 20 government soldiers dead.
Khalkhalah airport is of great strategic importance as it is located near a key highway leading to the capital city of Damascus.
The region, which has largely avoided the years-long deadly violence in the Arab country, is home to the Druze religious minority.
"The area is important because it's Druze and borders Damascus Province," said Abdel Rahman.
Rights groups say the ISIL terrorists have systematically targeted religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq. This is while the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has done its utmost to protect the minorities against Takfiris’ atrocities.
Earlier in the day, the militants affiliated with the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front had withdrawn from another strategic area along the Syrian border with Jordan, the UK-based observatory reported.
Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 215,000 people, according to reports.
New figures show that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives in Syria last year.
Over 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the crisis. More than 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced, according to the United Nations.
Takfiri terrorist groups, with members from several Western countries, control swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, and have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.
The Syrian army has clinched decisive victories against extremist groups in recent weeks, flushing terrorists out of several key areas in the violence-wracked Arab country.
FNR/HMV/SS
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