Syrian Army Welcomes in New Year by Driving Out Terrorists in Key Provinces

The past 24 hours have seen the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) obliterate terrorists' positions in the provinces of Aleppo, Damascus, Deir Ezzur, Daraa, Quneitra, Hama and Homs, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

Dozens of terrorists were killed and many more wounded after the Syrian forces launched military operations on militants groups across Syria on Thursday, FARS reported.

In the province of Aleppo, Syrian warplanes destroyed Daesh positions in villages and towns including Afash, Deir Qaq, Aisheh, al-Hader and al-Bab in the province's eastern areas.  Additionally, the Syrian troops obliterated the positions of al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups in the neighborhoods of Karm al-Tarab, al-Sheikh Lutfi, Salah Eddin, al-Rashidin 4 and Bani Zaid in the city of Aleppo.

The army also took on Daesh militants in Damascus province, where scores of terrorists were killed and injured in armed clashes "in the vicinity of al-Marj area in Eastern Ghouta," according to sources.

"The Syrian Army and the NDF stormed the militant positions and drove them back from several farms in Eastern Ghouta and a chunk of the road connecting the village of Marj al-Sultan and the town of al-Nashabiyah," the sources said.

In the eastern countryside of Hama, the army managed to regain control of the villages and towns of Zorsarhin, al-Maktot, Jenan, al-Saromia, Ra'boun, al-Makhraz and al-Mouradia. In another development, Syrian troops reportedly advanced on Daesh terrorists in the key town of Quaryatayn in the central province of Homs, leaving scores of militants dead and wounded.

Also, the Syrian forces staged an array of offensives on militant groups in the provinces of Daraa, Quneitra and Deir Ezzur, where the army regained control of several strategic villages and  destroyed militants' strongholds.

Adding to the Syrian Army's anti-Daesh effort is the Russian air campaign, which was launched on September 30, 2015, when more than fifty Russian warplanes, including Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-34 jets, commenced precision airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Late in December, Russian Defense Ministry officials said that Russian fighter jets had completed a total of 5,240 sorties since the start of the air operation against Daesh militants in Syria.