Syrian Army jets bomb militant positions in southern Damascus neighborhood

Smoke rises from Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, on April 28, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

The Syrian Army has carried out a series of precision and intensive airstrikes against hideouts of Takfiri militants in a neighborhood of southern Damascus as government soldiers press ahead with a counter-terrorism military campaign in the region.

Syria's official news agency SANA reported that terrorists suffered heavy casualties and their weapons and equipment were destroyed after fighter jets bombed terrorists’ positions in al-Hajar al-Aswad district on Monday.

 The aerial operation also resulted in isolating and cutting supply routes for militants, it added.

The report further noted that the Syrian army's campaign would continue until the eradication of terrorists and liberation of all southern Damascus neighborhoods from the grip of terrorist groups.

This comes as Syrian forces have been carrying out complicated operations to dismantle and cut off the supply and communication lines between terrorists in the Damascus suburban area.

Takfiri militants have lost much of the territory they once held in Syria amid sweeping gains by government forces on the ground.

Syrian forces managed to retake Eastern Ghouta and Eastern Qalamoun regions near Damascus this month.

For years, the areas had served as a launch pad for deadly terror attacks against civilians in Damascus.

Evacuation deal underway as more buses enter besieged towns of al-Foua, Kefraya

Meanwhile, under a deal, dozens of buses have left to evacuate residents from militant-besieged Shia-majority towns of Kefraya and al-Foua in northwestern Idlib province.

The convoys of buses are now waiting in both villages for the evacuation process to begin.

According SANA, the buses will transport 1500 people from the besieged towns after which they will be taken to a temporary housing center on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo city.

The process will be implemented in parallel with the exit of buses carrying terrorists from the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk towards IdlIb.

A convoy transporting Syrian civilians and militants evacuated from Eastern Ghouta waits in a government-held area prior to entering the village of Qal'at al-Madiq, some 45 kilometers northwest of the central city of Hama, on March 26, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

On Sunday, the Syrian government and militants holed up in the capital’s southern suburbs, including Yarmuk, reached the evacuation deal, according to which members of terror outfits are allowed to either hand over their weapons and ammunition to army troops and remain in the areas or leave with their families.

An agreement had been reached between the Syrian government and terrorist groups "in southern Damascus, in the areas of Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem."

The evacuation accord is the latest in a string of such agreements that have seen the Syrian government retake areas near Damascus after the withdrawal of militants.

During the past few days, the Syrian army has recaptured large parts of the district of Qadam on Yarmuk's western flank.

Takfiri militants have lost much of the territory they once held in Syria amid sweeping gains by government forces on the ground.