According to our reporter in Syria on Tuesday, the army has widened its operations around capital Damascus and Rif Dimashq Governorate, controlling all the main routes to prevent entrance of militant groups to cities and surrounding villages.

Scores of militants were killed in latest operations which according to the soldiers many of them were identified to be of foreign nationals, especially from Arab countries around the Persian Gulf.
 

The army also cleared a route entering city of Al-Qusayr and regained control over villages in the area--- the latest of these villages are Al-Haidaria , Ish Al-Warwar and Al-Domaineh al-Garbia in the northern countryside of Al-Qusayr and south of Homs city.

Army strategy aims mainly at securing international highways linking different parts of the country. This effort is not restricted to Homs. In another similar operation in Dara’a to the south the army successfully cleared Kherber Gazali town and managed to secure the highway linking Damascus with Dara’a and then Jordan.

Syria has been struggling with a Western-backed insurgency which began in March 2011 as a protest movement but turned to become a cover for terrorist groups including al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Syrian government has repeatedly said that the deadly insurgency is being orchestrated from outside the country.

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