Al-Alam correspondent, Roa al-Ali, who attended the operation along with army forces in al-Qusayr border areas, said Sunday that the army engaged in heavy fighting with militants in different areas near the border with Lebanon.

Abel, Ayn al-Tanoor, Ridhwaniya and al-Nabi Mendo were cleared of terrorists during the operation.

Terrorists had occupied villages around al-Qusayr and blocked all the routes, denying the residents from receiving any emergency aids.

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 militants are foreign nationals.

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

Several international human rights organizations have accused militants operating in Syria of committing war crimes.