Assad’s planes Thursday
renewed raids on the embattled city of Yabrud, the last rebel stronghold in the
Qalamoun region near the border with Lebanon.
The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for human Rights reported eight air raids on the area, which regime
troops are trying to recapture.
Meanwhile, 30 soldiers
of Assad’s forces and its backed Shiite militias have been killed on
Thursday, Zaman Alwasl reporter said.
Three days ago, rebels
had ambushed Assad’s forces near Yabrud, leaving 75 dead, activists said.
Qalamoun Media Center
said more than 400 soldiers, mostly from Republican Guards, have been killed
since the major offensive has targeted the strategic town near the Lebanese
border three weeks ago.
The mixed Muslim and
Christian town of Yabrud lies on the strategic highway linking Damascus to
Homs, Syria's third city, and is close to the Lebanese border and crucial rebel
supply lines.
The Lebanese Shiite
movement Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside Syrian troops in the area,
accuses rebels of using Yabrud as a gateway to send car bombs to target its
strongholds in eastern Lebanon and southern Beirut.
More than 140,000 people
have been killed in Syria's war, and millions more forced to flee their homes. With AFP
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