DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Syrian Army troops have stepped up attacks on militants in the southern city of Dara’a in a bid to regain control over an area that has become a haven for terrorists since it was taken three years ago, witnesses, the army and residents said.
An army assault on the old quarter of Dara’a dealt a blow to terrorists after starting the anti-terrorist operation in the region on Thursday.
The army has since sent hundreds of elite troops, dozens of tanks and armored vehicles to storm the terrorist bastion.
The militants disrupted traffic along the Damascus- Dara’a highway leading to the border with Jordan, which closed the crossing point on Sunday.
The Syrian army, aided by Russia, retook control of the province that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in 2018.
Russian-brokered deals at the time forced militants to hand over heavy weapons.
The Syrian army on Sunday blamed terrorists for foiling several rounds of negotiations to hammer out a deal for the region since last week to allow the army to set up checkpoints in the enclave.
Syrian official news agency (SANA) said on Thursday a hospital and several residential neighborhoods were targeted in an attack by militants on government-held areas in Dara’a city.
Government sources said two civilians, including a woman and her child, were killed when the foreign-backed militants targeted the provincial capital with mortar shells. Three others were also injured.
The Damascus government says the offensive was in response to militants’ refusal to surrender under a deal reached in 2018.
Syria’s al-Watan newspaper has called the developments the “start of a military operation against the hideouts of terrorists who thwarted a reconciliation deal”.
The recapture of Dara’a is highly important because it borders the occupied Golan Heights which Israel has used to treat wounded militants fighting the Syrian government since 2011.
The territory’s return to Syrian government control could cut the much-reported collaboration between the Zionist regime and the militants and accordingly deal a blow to Tel Aviv’s plans to annex the Golan Heights.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The government says Western countries and their regional allies are aiding terror outfits.
The U.S. has deployed soldiers and military equipment in Syria without any authorization from Damascus or the UN.
Washington has long been collaborating with anti-Damascus militants and plundering Syria’s resources, ignoring repeated calls by Damascus to end its illegal occupation of the country.
In recent years, Syrian troops have made significant advances against remaining pockets of land held by militants across the Arab country.