Syria army, Hezbollah fighters liberate more blocks in Zabadani
The Syrian army, backed by fighters from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, has liberated more areas in the flashpoint border town of Zabadani.
Syria’s official news agency SANA said Tuesday that the joint forces managed to take control of a number of buildings in several neighborhoods southeast of Zabadani, which is located about 47 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital, Damascus.
Militant hideouts in the neighborhoods of Ein al-Himma, al-Maidani, al-Kubra, and al-Adaima were targeted in the latest offensive.
The joint forces also managed to destroy several weapons depots belonging to the militants in the town.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group which is affiliated to the foreign-backed Syria opposition groups, says government forces have already retaken more than 70 percent of Zabadani. Syria says, however, that the operation to retake the town is nearly done, with only pockets of militants remaining in an area of one square kilometer in the center of the town.
Zabadani had been a major stronghold of militant groups over the past few years. The army's complete recapture of the town would entirely cut off the supply lines used by the militants for transferring ammunition and forces into areas near Damascus, while it also secures the highway connecting the Syrian capital to Beirut in Lebanon.
In Aleppo, shelling goes on; Homs sees another car bombing
The news of the latest advances in Zabadani comes as elsewhere in the northwestern city of Aleppo, which lies near the Turkish border and has been one of the major spots of the conflict over the past four years, civilian casualties were reported due to shelling by militants at residential buildings in the city.
In the western city of Homs, a car bomb attack was reported. Eight people were injured in the bombing that was carried out near a school.
Plagued by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011, Syria has been fighting terror that has claimed the lives of nearly 250,000 people already.
In addition to the fatalities, millions more have also been forced from their homes by the conflict.
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