Syria forces continue mop-up operations

Syria forces continue mop-up operations, kill 50 militants

News | 28.02.2014 | 06:03

Syrian government forces have continued mop-up operations across the country, seizing parts of Aleppo airport and killing at least fifty militants. Syrian troops also took control of the Brakat hill, reaching to the east of al-Sakan al-Shababi area in the northern city of Aleppo on Thursday. The operations came a day after an army operation in which Syrian soldiers killed at least 175 foreign-backed al-Qaeda-linked militants near the capital, Damascus. The ambush attack near Otaybeh village in the eastern Ghouta region claimed the lives of mostly Saudi, Qatari and Chechen militants, local media said. Meanwhile, almost 300 people arrived in the Syrian capital after being evacuated from Madaya town, east of the Damascus countryside. Earlier on Thursday, Syria’s official al-Watan newspaper said the country’s army is “preparing to launch a new phase” of its mop-up operation in the town of Yabrud near the border with Lebanon to clear militants from the area. It said the government forces have taken control of two strategic hills near Yabrud, in the Qalamoun mountains. "Every day there is progress" by the Syrian troops, the daily also said, adding that militants used the hills as supply route. Syria has been the scene of deadly violence since 2011. Over 130,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the unrest. The Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- have been supporting the militants operating inside Syria, according to reports. Press TV