Syrian Army Seizes Strategic Yabroud, Defeats Terrorists
Local Editor
Syria's army seized full control of armed group bastion Yabroud on Sunday, dealing the opposition a strategic blow in the strategic Qalamoun region along the Lebanese border.
The army declared it had captured the opposition stronghold north of Damascus, in a symbolic victory a day after the third anniversary of the outbreak of Syria's conflict.
Earlier, the army announced it had "returned security and stability" to the town and its surroundings.
"This new success . . . is an important step towards securing the border area with Lebanon, and cutting off the roads and tightening the noose around the remaining terrorist cells in Damascus province," the military added.
Syrian state television said the army was targeting groups of terrorists fleeing Yabroud in the direction of the Lebanese Arsal.
It further reported that military forces were removing booby traps and bombs and hunting down rebel holdouts in Yabroud.
"Our armed forces are now chasing the remnants of the terrorist gangs in the area," said a uniformed soldier reading a statement on Syrian television. "This new achievement ... cuts supply lines and tightens the noose around terrorist strongholds remaining in the Damascus countryside," the soldier said.
The fall of Yabroud comes after months of Syrian army operations in the Qalamoun region. Late last year, the army captured a string of nearby towns before turning its sights on Yabroud.
According to Abu Akram, a Syrian Army soldier in Yabroud, the military now aims to take over Flita and Rankus, two armed groups positions on the road to Lebanon.
Yabroud is a strategic prize because of its proximity to the highway and the Lebanese border, across which armed groups have smuggled fighters and weapons.
The capture of the town, and continuing army operations in the surrounding area, will sever important supply lines for the armed groups as they face army advances on different fronts.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
- Related News
Al-Assad: Palestinian Resistance Defeated ‘Israel’
4 months ago
