Syrian government forces have carried out fresh operations against Daesh Takfiri militants in the war-ravaged Arab country’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, inflicting substantial losses on them.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that Syrian units had established full control over al-Husseiniyah village north of the provincial capital city of Dayr al-Zawr, as part of a major operation to purge villages and towns between Mayadin and al-Mariah of Daesh presence.
The offensive has reportedly resulted in the elimination of scores of Daesh terrorists, and destroyed their fortifications, arms depots, pickup trucks equipped with heavy machineguns as well as their military hardware.
SANA added that the Syrian army continued to hunt down more Daesh terrorists in the eastern countryside of Dayr al-Zawr, and managed to liberate al-Muhasan town and the villages of al-Abd, Albu Amr and al-Boleel on Wednesday afternoon.
Syrian government forces are now heading towards the villages of al-Shaqra and al-Junaynah.
Daesh roadside bomb kills Syrian general in Dayr al-Zawr
Meanwhile, a high-ranking Syrian military commander has been killed in the Saqr district of Dayr al-Zawr province, when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb planted by Daesh extremists.
Pro-government and Arabic-language al-Masdar news agency reported that Major General Issam Zahreddine, the head of the 104th Brigade of the Syrian Republican Guard, had been on a special operation in the area.
Daesh overran large parts of Dayr al-Zawr province, including its many oil fields, in mid-2014 as it seized swathes of land in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
By early 2015, the Takfiri terrorists were in control of some parts of the city of Dayr al-Zawr and besieged the remaining parts, which were under government control. It is estimated that 100,000 people remain in the government-held parts of the city.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.