Syrian army advances against Daesh in southeastern desert
Hundreds of Daesh militants withdrew from the heart of a rugged area in
southeastern Syria after holding up for over three months against a
major campaign by the Syrian army and its allies to crush them, rebels
and residents said on Sunday, Reuters reports.
They said jihadists dug into the Tulul al Safa heights, east of Sweida
province, had begun their retreat in the last few days as Syrian army
tanks backed by heavy air strikes approached their last hideout.
Local leaders in Sweida city said the army and militias had suffered
heavy losses in weeks of attempts to advance deep into the volcanic
plateau area where the rugged terrain had long made it an ideal refuge
for fugitives and insurgents.
Syrian state media, quoting army sources, said they had closed in on
Tulul al Safa and pro-government websites said the army had finally
raised the national flag near the tomb of a revered holy figure close to
the site.
The jihadist group, which lost most of its territory in Syria last year,
rampaged through Sweida city in July from the desert areas east of the
city, killing more than 200 people and detonating suicide vests.
The militants are believed to have fled to other areas to the west,
including the towns of al Hasa and al Rahba, with many also melting into
the vast sparsely populated eastern desert region, a former rebel
source familiar with the area said.
Further northeast, the US-led coalition was waging air strikes against
the town of Hajin, east of the Euphrates River, in the last remaining
Daesh-held pocket in Syria near the border with Iraq.
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