Syrian army soldiers inflict heavy losses on Daesh militants

This frame grab from video provided by the media bureau of the Syrian Joint Operations Command released on July 9, 2017, shows Syrian forces taking up positions during fighting between government forces and Takfiri Daesh militants, in the Palmyra desert, Homs province, Syria. (Photo by AP)

Syrian government forces have carried out fresh operations against Takfiri Daesh militants in the war-raved Arab country’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, inflicting substantial losses on them.

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that Syrian Air Force fighter jets had carried out a string of aerial assaults against Daesh positions in al-Hussainia, al-Bogheilia, Panorama, Hattla, Marat and Mazloum districts, killing scores of the militants and destroying large amounts of their munitions.

The developments came on the same day that several mortar shells fired by foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists landed in al-Joura, al-Qosour and Harabesh neighborhoods of the provincial capital city of Dayr al-Zawr, located 450 kilometers northeast of the capital, Damascus, causing huge material damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Moreover, local sources confirmed that a number of top Daesh militant commanders, including Hamed al-Nouri aka Abu Hamza al-Qaraani, have fled Dayr al-Zawr,

Separately, Syrian army soldiers have regained control over al-Heil oil fields northeast of the ancient city of Palmyra, inflicting heavy losses on Daesh terrorists.

Elsewhere in the southwestern province of Sweida, Syrian army troops established complete control over Tal Shihab mountainous region.

Syrian fighter jet allegedly struck east of Damascus

Meanwhile, a foreign-sponsored militant group affiliated with the so-called Free Syrian Army's Southern Front stated that its fighters had fired anti-aircraft machine guns at a Syrian military aircraft on Tuesday,

“The men targeted the plane, they saw smoke coming out of it. It withdrew backwards towards the regime-controlled territory,” Saad al-Haj, spokesman for the Lions of the East Army, said.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the plane was damaged and was forced to come down in the al-Sin military air base on the outskirts of Damascus, but it did not crash.

The file photo shows a Syrian Air Force fighter jet firing a rocket. (Photo by Reuters)

Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news network and Damascus Now news website also dismissed allegations that the plane had been shot down and crashed in the Um al-Ramam region. 

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

UN: Up to 50,000 civilians trapped in Raqqah

Furthermore, the United Nations has expressed deep concerns over the situation of tens of thousands of people, who have been trapped in Syria's militant-held northern province of Raqqah.

“The UN estimates that between 30 and 50,000 people remain trapped in Raqqah city, although certainly over numbers, getting the precise number is difficult given the lack of access. Availability of food, water, medicine, electricity and other essentials has been dwindling, with the situation rapidly deteriorating. It is imperative that trapped civilians are able to secure a safe passage out to reach safety, shelter and protection." Spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

He added that 20,000 people have left the city over the month of June alone, stressing that those who attempt to leave Raqqah expose themselves to massive airstrikes being carried out by the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh terrorist group.

“They either chose to, they either have to make a choice to remain and risk dying in the fighting, in the fierce fighting, or risking becoming targets as they flee. We have seen a similar situation, a similar pattern, a similar modus operandi in Mosul,” Mahecic pointed out.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist groups since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last August that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then.