Clashes continue in Damascus' outskirts, Homs

Syrian jets carried out, on Friday, several raids on areas in Sokhna city and its surroundings, in eastern Homs, and no information about casualties reported, amid continued violent clashes between regime forces and ISIS elements. While a loud explosion was heard in al-Wa'er neighborhood, in Homs, due to the shelling of the regime forces, but no information about casualties reported.

The western parties of Aleppo witnessed fierce battles, on Friday, between the regime forces and Islamic factions. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) informed that the violent clashes are concentrated in the neighborhood of Jamaiyet al-Zahra and al-Gazera area west of the city, where accompanied by clashes with heavy bombardment by regime forces on the clash areas and the fictions' sites.

A citizen was killed in al-Baba city, in the northeastern of Aleppo countryside, after a mine explosion in the city, while ISIS organisation targeting with mortars, areas in eastern Kwers airport, which is controlled by the government forces yesterday, and news of casualties among regime forces reported.

Meanwhile, SOHR informed that the regime forces carried out during the last few hours a raid campaign in the houses of the citizens in al-Bab city, where the forces arrested 15 persons, including a woman, and took them to an unknown destination. The regime forces shelled areas in Siraj Fare'a village in the southern countryside of Aleppo, resulting in material damage.

In the same context, the regime forces shelled areas in Turkmen Mount in the northern countryside of Latakia, was no information about casualties reported. The regime forces launched two missiles in areas in Tishreen district on the outskirts of the eastern capital, was no information about injuries reported, accompanied by a missile strike by regime forces on orchards of the neighborhoods of Qaboun, Barzeh and Tishreen.

In Hama, the clashes took place between regime forces and ISIS organization, in the eastern countryside Salemia city, amid the advancement of regime forces. Informed information confirmed its control over several points in the region, while helicopters shelled with explosive barrels areas in the town of Kafr Zita, in northern Hama, and no information about casualties reported.

The international coalition jets carried out several strikes on areas in the city of Raqqa, the main stronghold of the Islamic stat" in Syria, and no information about casualties reported.

On the other hand, information was received on reaching a truce in al-Wa'er district in Homs, between officals in the neighborhood and the regime authorities, mediated by a third party, after more than 20 days of air and artillery bombardment targeted the neighborhood with heavy machine guns by regime forces, which resulted in dozens of martyrs and dozens wounded.

The regime forces that are desperately trying to reach Palmyra city and restore it along with the oilfields in its western desert, have lost all of these areas in a violent attack carried out by ISIS organization on the 8th of December 2016, where they achieved widespread advancement at the expense of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and controlled Palmyra city and other locations around it and in its desert. 

This control came after the arrival of reinforcement of more than 300 fighters and commanders sent by the leadership of ISIS after a meeting between the commander of “Jaysh al-Sham” with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and the Minister of War in the organization, where both of them confirmed to the commander of Jaysh al-Sham that the reinforcements would be continuous and successive from now on.