Syrian Forces Advance against Terrorists in Southwest

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The Syrian army and allied forces made advances in the southwest that bring it closer to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as terrorists refusing to return to state rule boarded buses for opposition controlled northern Syria, state television and militants said. 

The army, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by Washington, Jordan and Persian Gulf Arab states, Reuters reported. 

The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the southwest, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and occupied Palestine. 

The capture of a string of villages, announced by the army on Saturday, comes as evacuation of terrorists and their families resumed for the second day from villages along the Golan frontier towards rebel-controlled northern Syria. 

Syria’s southwest is strategically sensitive because of its proximity to the frontiers with both Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. 

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.