Syrian army forces managed to inflict heavy casualties on foreign-backed terror groups and destroyed their equipment during an operation in Latakia countryside, local media reported.

The army forces have also targeted terrorist groups at al-R'oneh valley, west Qara, al-Mal valley, as well as Tel al-Malouhi in Nabek, killing dozens of terrorists and injuring a large number of them.

Syria has been gripped by a deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the insurgents are foreign nationals.

The Syrian government says the West and its regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the terrorists.

In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if the terrorists fighting against the Syrian government take power in his country they could destabilize the entire Middle East for decades.

"If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond," he added.