LATAKIA (Public Radio of Armenia) — The Syrian Army’s General Command said in a statement that the army forces in cooperation with popular defense groups managed to liberate over 18 towns and villages in the Northern countryside of the Latakia province.
Syria’s Army General Command mentioned that the most notable of the emancipated towns and villages are Al-Ghanimeh, al-Qalai’e, Beit Sukkar, al-Ouainat, Khan al-Joz, Beit Riha, Bradon, al-Souda, al-Khadra, Reef Mekhtaro, al-Jamousiye, al-Saraya, al-Rayyana, al-Shakria, and a number of vantage points and hills covering an area of over 120 square kilometers. They added that the liberation was achieved after eliminating large numbers of terrorists while others fled towards the Turkish borders as their ranks suffered a complete breakdown.
The statement was published after the army units and pro-government forces established control over Rabi’a area on Sunday morning, an achievement by which the pro-government forces restricted terrorists’ movement and cut off their supply lines.
The statement pointed out that last week’s victories made by the Armed Forces were significant in the liberation of this week’s territories. Specifically, the territory of Rabi’a was one of the biggest gathering points and a nexus for transportation for terrorists in the area, therefore establishing control over it cut off terrorists’ supply lines and restricted their movement
Syrian Army General Command said that establishing control over Rabi’a area serves as a catalyst for eliminating the remaining terrorist groups in Latakia’s countryside. The statement concluded by stressing commitment to continue fighting terrorism and calling on all those who were involved in bearing arms against the state to abandon their weapons and resolve their legal status before it’s too late.
Before liberation of the region, the Syrian army had besieged the Rabi’a, the second stronghold of the militants in the Latakia countryside from the West, South and North. The militant groups, while withdrawing from the region, left behind dozens of dead or wounded members and pulled back the rest of their forces from more territories in the Northern parts of Latakia.
The militant groups suffered a heavy death toll in the attacks and fled the battlefield to evade more casualties.
