Syrian forces liberate last major Daesh-held town in Homs province

A man rides a motorcycle down a street past a damaged building in the central Syrian militant–held town of Talbiseh, north of Homs, on August 3, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A UK-based monitoring group has reported that Syrian government forces have liberated the last major town in the Homs province from the Daesh terrorist group.

On Saturday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that al-Sukhnah, some 50 kilometers to the northeast of Palmyra, is now fully free of the terrorists.

The town was freed following an intense firefight with the Takfiri terrorists which erupted after government forces encircled them from three directions.

During the operations, a large numbers of terrorists were killed and vast amounts of their equipment and weapons were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Syrian army, backed by the air force, carried out several strikes on terrorists' positions, gatherings, and fortifications in the Dayr al-Zawr province, killing a large number of Daeshis

A military source also reported that several towns in the province of Raqqah were also liberated from the terrorists.

The towns of al-Hardan, Salem al-Hamd, al-Atshana, Muqla Kabira, Muqla Saghira, and al-Da’ama were also fully liberated after the clashes.

Apart from killing a large number of the terrorists, some 30 of their armored vehicles were also destroyed.

A member of the Syrian government forces stands next to a national flag as he secures a road for a military convoy in the desert area of Saba' Biyar, in southeastern Syria near the border with Iraq, on May 10, 2017.

Syria has been gripped by conflict since March 2011. The government has repeatedly blamed certain foreign countries for the spread of the devastating militancy in the country.     

Over the past few months, Syrian forces have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements, which have in turn increased their acts of violence across the country.