(Zaman Al Wasl- Reuters)- Syrian regime armed forces overran rebels in a town northeast of Damascus on Thursday, strengthening President Bashar al-Assad's grip on territory around the capital, Reuters said.
The town - Adra al-Omalia - is about 30 km (19 miles) from central Damascus but far from parts of Syria where the United States has launched air strikes against Islamic State militants.
Syrian state TV said the armed forces had "imposed their control over the city of Adra al-Omalia and eliminated a number of terrorists." Troops were combing the area and clearing out explosives planted by militants, it added.
Assad's forces, backed by the Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah, have been gradually extending control over a corridor of territory from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast this year, seizing towns and villages along the main north-south highway and in the mountainous Qalamoun area along the Lebanese border.
Meanwhile Zahran Alloush, leader of Joint command of rebels in Eastern Ghouta rebels declared , in statement posted online, the ‘General Alarm’, calling on all people who can carry weapon to join armed factions, There is no way of turning back,” he added.
Sources said rebels in their withdrawal have taken with them the hostages, mostly from the Alawite sect, who held in captivity months ago.
The advances in Adra al-Omalia show that the government is continuing to press that campaign as U.S.-led forces bombard Islamic State positions elsewhere in the country.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the government had taken control of Adra al-Omalia after clashes with rebels including some from the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, whose positions have also been hit by U.S. air strikes.
The Observatory, which monitors the conflict through a network of sources, earlier said at least 29 people - 18 of them rebel fighters - died during fighting on Wednesday between insurgents and government forces in the outskirts of Damascus.
Syria's conflict started as a peaceful protest movement but, after a government crackdown, turned into a war that has killed more than 190,000 people over more than three years. Fighting still regularly kills nearly 200 people a day.
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