Syrian Army Advances on Daesh-held Airbase

Local Editor

The Syrian Arab Army advanced to within six miles of the Tabqa airbase, held by Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the terrorist "ISIS" group], in the northern part of the country Sunday, part of a push in an attempt to unseat the extremist group from its de facto capital, Raqqa.

In parallel, the national army recaptured the nearby Thawra oil field from Daesh militants.

The Tabqa base, located some 45 kilometers from Raqqa, holds strategic and symbolic value in the government campaign on the Daesh capital. It was the last position held by government forces in Raqqa province before Daesh militants overran it in August 2014, killing scores of detained soldiers in a massacre they documented on video.

Meanwhile, al-Manar channel broadcast footage Sunday of a fierce aerial and artillery campaign against Syrian rebels, driving the militants to abandon their positions in the thick of the battle. It said the footage was from the southern Aleppo countryside.

The news channel further reported that the Syrian army managed to kill about 167 militants, including some two dozen leaders.

In other developments, Russia said it reached an agreement with the United States on the need to improve coordination between their military operations in Syria, during a video conference.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team