Syria Army Resumes Offensive in South Damascus: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Syrian army resumed its offensive against Daesh terrorists in south Damascus on Monday after a short ceasefire to allow women, children and old people leave, a report said.
State television broadcast footage of the shattered area and said air strikes “were targeting the last terrorist remnants” in the area after reporting earlier that a temporary humanitarian ceasefire had been in place since Sunday night, Reuters reported.
It showed soldiers giving victory signs, waving weapons and Syrian flags before a smashed cityscape. Buildings were punctured by shellfire, walls were peppered with bullet marks, metal satellite dishes were bent and scorched, and the dome of a mosque had a gaping hole near its base.
The Syrian army and its allies have been battling for weeks to recapture the last area outside government control in or around the capital.
On Sunday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Takfiri militants had begun withdrawing from the area toward eastern Syria under a surrender deal, an issue the army denied completely.
Takfiri terrorists have lost much of the territory they once held in Syria amid sweeping gains by government forces on the ground.
In April, Syrian forces managed to retake the Eastern Ghouta and Eastern Qalamoun regions near the capital.
For years, the areas had served as a launch pad for deadly terror attacks against civilians in Damascus.
