Syrian govt. forces discover Israeli-made bombs in militant weapons cache

Syrian government forces have discovered Israeli-made bombs inside a weapons cache belonging to foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants in the country’s western-central province of Hama as they continue to make territorial gains in battles against the extremists.

Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that Syrian army troopers launched a large-scale operation in the northern sector of the province on Tuesday to clear liberated towns and villages of remnants of terror groups and mines left behind the Takfiris.

Government forces then uncovered a militant arms depot in the town of Aqrab, located more than 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of the capital Damascus.

The weapons cache contained various munitions, including Israeli-made bombs, assault rifles, pistols, PKC machine guns, wireless communication devices, mortar shells and sniper rifles.

Syrian correspondent killed in Quneitra terrorist attack

Meanwhile, a Syrian journalist working for a pro-government television channel has lost his life while covering territorial advances made by government forces and allied fighters from popular defense groups in battles against foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists near the Lebanese-Syrian border.

SANA reported that Mustafa Salamah was killed on Tuesday as army troops and their allies were moving deeper into Tal Mashara area in the eastern countryside of Syria’s strategic southwestern province of Quneitra.

Salamah was fatally shot as government troops and allied fighters were engaged in fierce exchanges of gunfire with militants from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.

Unknown fighter jet crashes in northeastern Syria

Separately, an unspecified fighter aircraft has crashed in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah.

Syria’s state-run television network reported that the warplane went down on the outskirts of al-Shaddadi town in the southern part of the province, and broadcast images of its charred debris.

It was not immediately clear whether the military aircraft was of Syrian Air Force, Russian Air Force or the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in an ongoing battle in the province of Dayr al-Zawr as Daesh struggles to keep its last positions in eastern Syria.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russia’s air cover.

On May 21, the General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces announced in a statement that complete security was restored to Damascus and its countryside after al-Hajar al-Aswad district and al-Yarmouk camp had been totally purged of Daesh terrorists.

The development was preceded by flushing the Takfiris out of the towns of Yalda, Babbila and Beit Sahem on the southern outskirts of Damascus.