News / Syria

Syrian army soldiers, allies gain more ground in battle against Daesh

Sunday, 23 July 2017 4:55 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 23 July 2017 6:04 PM ]

A picture taken on July 8, 2017 shows Syrian pro-government forces looking at destroyed grain silos in the village of Khirbat al-Sa'ab, on the western outskirts of Raqqah Province. (Photo by AFP)

Syrian government forces, backed by allied fighters from popular defense groups, have made fresh advances against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group across the war-ravaged Arab country.

Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that Syrian Army fighter jets had bombarded Daesh positions and gatherings on the outskirts of the troubled northeastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, located 450 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus on Sunday, killing and wounding scores of the terrorists.

A large number of Daesh Takfiris were also killed and injured when Syrian army units and their allies engaged in heavy clashes with them on southern outskirts of Dayr al-Zawr as well as the area surrounding Dayr al-Zawr Airport.

The clashes reportedly coincided with airstrikes on the hills south of Dayr al-Zawr, where a pickup truck equipped with a machine gun, and a number of terrorists' hideouts were destroyed.

Separately, a young man set fire to a Daesh media center in Hatla village southeast of Dayr al-Zawr.

Unnamed military sources also confirmed that Saleh Mohammad al-Khaleif, a high-profile member of Daesh, has also escaped to the eastern countryside of Dayr al-Zawr, taking huge sums of money with him.

Elsewhere in Sabkha village east of Daesh-held northern city of Raqqah, Syrian army troops managed to regain control over an oil field.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist groups since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last August that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then.

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