On Thursday, a number of terrorists from al-Nusra Front group were killed in intense clashes with Syrian soldiers in the al-Rihaniyya district of the city, 348 kilometers (216 miles) northwest of the capital Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported.

Syrian troops also clashed with militants in Frenluq neighborhood of Latakia, killing and injuring a number of them.

A rocket launcher and a military base used by foreign-backed militants were destroyed in the operations.

A terrorist commander, identified as Abu al-Abed, was also among the slain militants.

The army also continued its operations in Rif Dimashq, near capital Damascus, in Beit Sahm and Sidi Miqdad districts.

The army’s strategy is aimed at isolating militant-held areas by surrounding them and closing all supply routes used for sending arms to them.

With the government struggling with a two-year-old bloody insurgency, the US, Israel and their Western allies are threatening to arm militants if President Bashar al-Assad does not leave.

In the face of efforts to find a political solution to the crisis, the European Union agreed on Tuesday to lift its embargo against arming terrorists in a bid to prop up militants in the face of the Syrian army's advances.

Western countries have already been supplying the insurgents with what they call “non-lethal” equipment but the new decision marks a turning point in EU's support of the militants.

EU’s decision to arm the extremist groups is expected to lead to further insecurity which may come to haunt the West on their own doorsteps.