5 Palestinians killed in regime bombing on Yarmouk Camp: reporter

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime forces stepped up its ground and aerial attack on the southern neighborhoods of Damascus as clashes are still underway with Daesh and former al-Qaeda group, local reporter said Saturday.

Zaman al-Wasl reporter said five Palestinian people were killed in regime bombing on Yarmouk refugee camp.

The regime army backed by Shiite militias has also launched new offensive on the rebel-held town of Yalda despite a ceasefire deal, pressing slow gains.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said it had killed 20 Palestinian fighters loyal to Bashar al-Assad and had destroyed three tanks in Yarmouk refugee camp.

The bombing on the Hajr al-Aswad neighborhood and Yarmouk Palestinian camp began on Thursday.

Regime warplanes conducted more than 200 raids in the past 48 hours, according to local activists.

ISIS also has a presence in Yarmouk, and the neighboring areas of Hajar al-Aswad, Tadamon and Qadam.

Amaq, the official news agency of ISIS, said Daesh had killed 10 troops on Friday.

The regime-run news agency SANA said militants will be given the option to stay and reconcile with the regime or leave on buses to Daesh-held territory in the eastern Syrian desert.

Yarmouk used to be the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, with a population of 160,000, but only a few thousand people remain inside the devastated area.

Well-informed sources told Zaman al-Wasl on Thursday that senior Daesh commanders had fled southern suburbs of Damascus.

Abu Naser al-Janadi, one of ISIS masterminds, has fled to southern Daraa province where an ISIS affiliated groups is still operating near the Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights. Abu Khaled al-Sharei, a 'jurist' in the radical group, was also escaped regime shelling to Daraa.

Sources said a smuggling network related to the Syrian regime and intelligence services has been facilitating the move of ISIS commanders. (With Agencies)

Two more senior commanders left to the northern province of Idlib. They were identified as Khaled Barakat and Abu George al-Idlibi.

After fully retaking the Eastern Ghouta region on the edge of the capital, the regime has turned its attention to other areas across the country that still escape its control.

Among them are neighborhoods in southern Damascus from which many civilians have fled but are still held by ISIS, including the Yarmouk area that hosts a Palestinian refugee camp.

Zaman Al Wasl