Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Takes Control of Strategic Region in Damascus Countryside

The Syrian army regained control of a very important and strategic region in the Damascus countryside in the Southern parts of the country.
The army units took control of Al-Maliha region in Damascus countryside in the last 24 hours.
The Syrian army moved towards Al-Maliha in several fronts and could make major advances in the region on Thursday and Friday.
Also in the past 24 hours, Syrian army units killed a number of terrorists, among them a notorious Al-Qaeda commander, in the Western parts of the country.
Abu Hamzeh Al-Maghrebi, commander of Sham Al-Islam terrorist group, was killed in fierce clashes in the Northern parts of Lattakia in Western Syria on Thursday.
Al-Maghrebi was a former Guantanamo prisoner who took part in wars of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Meantime, a source at Homs province said that 4 gunmen in al-Karabis and Jeb al-Jandali neighborhoods in the old city of Homs have turned themselves in to the authorities.
A sum of 23 gunmen in al-Karabis and Jouret al-Shiyyah neighborhoods in the old city of Homs gave up themselves and their weapons to authorities.
Also, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said the terrorist groups that attacked Kasab area in Lattakia countryside had sneaked across the Turkish border, aided and abetted by Erdogan-led government.
Armenia has been doing its utmost to ensure the interests of compatriots in Syria.
Meantime, Syria slammed the French Foreign Ministry’s statement on ongoing events in Kasab city, saying it is characteristic of France’s rash and aggressive anti-Syria policies.
Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said the recently-issued French Foreign Ministry’s statement on unfolding events in Kasab area is an attempt to cover up the acts of armed terrorist groups that have targeted, with Turkish support and firepower, several areas in Lattakia Northern countryside and committed grave violations against peaceful civilians there, prompting them to flee to neighboring areas.
The source said French Foreign Ministry continues – in its official statements- to cover up terrorist acts and falsify events, which proves French officials’ involvement in the bloodshed in Syria through financial, military, media and political support to terrorist groups.
The source expressed bewilderment at the French government’s condemnation of what it called ”bombarding Kasab” and leveling unfair accusations against Syrian government, when it should have denounced the acts of terrorist groups there that are directly aided and abetted by the Turkish government.
Among those killed in Kasab are survivors of the Ottomans’ atrocities against them at the beginning of last century, the source added.