(Zaman Al Wasl- Agencies)- The Syrian regime army and allied Shiite militia, backed by Russian bombardments, took control of two towns in western Syria after heavy battles with ISIS fighters, reports said Monday.
Syrian state media reported the military and a local force had taken control of Mheen and Hawwarin towns, to the southeast of Homs, and had killed a large number of ISIS militants.
The two towns lie to the east of the north-south highway running through Syria's major cities that is crucial to control of mainly government-held territory in the west of the country. They are also close to roads that link the ISIS-held city of Palmyra in the central Syrian desert to western cities.
The regime's next push is expected to target the nearby town of Qaryatain and later the historic town of Palmyra, which was taken by ISIS in May.
Bashar Assad said in remarks published Sunday that his forces are advancing on "almost" all fronts thanks to Russian airstrikes.
Russia has conducted an air campaign in Syria since Sept. 30, and the airstrikes have sharply intensified in recent days.
The head of the London-based monitoring group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel-Rahman, said Russian warplanes and helicopter gunships played a major role in opening the way for troops to advance in the desert near Homs. He added that around 50 ISIS fighters were killed in days of fighting in Mheen, Hawareen and surrounding areas.
Homs-based opposition activist Bebars al-Talawy said that government forces were backed by members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Syrian troops have captured dozens of villages in northern, western and central Syria since the Russian airstrikes began.
The Observatory said the Russian airstrikes have killed 403 civilians, including 97 children under the age of 18. It said the strikes killed 381 ISIS fighters as well as 547 gunmen from other insurgent groups.
The Violations Documentation Center in Syria, an activist group that keeps track of Syria's dead, wounded and missing persons, said that the first 45 days of Russian airstrikes killed 526 civilians, including 137 children and 71 women.
Meanwhile, French fighter jets took off Monday from the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, newly deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, in an operation against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, military sources told AFP.
Syrian state media reported the military and a local force had taken control of Mheen and Hawwarin towns, to the southeast of Homs, and had killed a large number of ISIS militants.
The two towns lie to the east of the north-south highway running through Syria's major cities that is crucial to control of mainly government-held territory in the west of the country. They are also close to roads that link the ISIS-held city of Palmyra in the central Syrian desert to western cities.
The regime's next push is expected to target the nearby town of Qaryatain and later the historic town of Palmyra, which was taken by ISIS in May.
Bashar Assad said in remarks published Sunday that his forces are advancing on "almost" all fronts thanks to Russian airstrikes.
Russia has conducted an air campaign in Syria since Sept. 30, and the airstrikes have sharply intensified in recent days.
The head of the London-based monitoring group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel-Rahman, said Russian warplanes and helicopter gunships played a major role in opening the way for troops to advance in the desert near Homs. He added that around 50 ISIS fighters were killed in days of fighting in Mheen, Hawareen and surrounding areas.
Homs-based opposition activist Bebars al-Talawy said that government forces were backed by members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Syrian troops have captured dozens of villages in northern, western and central Syria since the Russian airstrikes began.
The Observatory said the Russian airstrikes have killed 403 civilians, including 97 children under the age of 18. It said the strikes killed 381 ISIS fighters as well as 547 gunmen from other insurgent groups.
The Violations Documentation Center in Syria, an activist group that keeps track of Syria's dead, wounded and missing persons, said that the first 45 days of Russian airstrikes killed 526 civilians, including 137 children and 71 women.
Meanwhile, French fighter jets took off Monday from the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, newly deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, in an operation against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, military sources told AFP.
No information was given as to the nature of the operation.
In eastern Syria, the United States and its allies conducted additional strikes against ISIS over the weekend, including two in Syria that destroyed nearly 300 ISIS vehicles and an oil facility, the coalition leading the operations said. (With The Daily Star)
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