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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian losing ground to ISIS in Homs |
| 2016-12-11 |
| [ARA News] Homs – Subsequent to fierce clashes with Syrian Army forces, militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of several areas in Syria’s central Homs Governorate on Saturday. ISIS militants launched a major offensive on military bases of the Syrian regime’s armed forces in the vicinity of al-Mahr oilfield, in Homs’ eastern countryside. The group shelled the army headquarters with mortar and artillery fire, forcing Syrian soldiers to evacuate main positions near al-Mahr. “At least 19 pro-regime soldiers were killed in Saturday’s offensive,” media activist Amro al-Hussein told ARA News in Homs, citing a military source. “The army was forced to retreat from the Ertiwaziyah District and al-Burj Hill, east of Homs. ISIS is now in control of both locations,” the source reported. ISIS has repeatedly tried to storm the fortified hilltops which abut the al-Mahr oilfield, employing VBIEDs and suicide squads. Islamic State militants also seized control of three military checkpoints in eastern Homs after clashes with Syrian army forces on Saturday evening. ISIS has recently brought reinforcements to the eastern countryside of Homs in a bid to protect its positions and push into Homs City. However, the group’s movement has been considerably restricted in central Syria due to intensified Russian airstrikes, that often hit the ISIS’s tactical units and fighting positions in support of the Syrian regime’s forces. |
| Posted by:badanov |