Syrian army clashes with militants in Hama

Syrian army clashes with militants in Hama
Mon Jun 24, 2013 16:52:33

Clashes erupted in two villages northeast of the city of Hama after Syrian army attacked hideouts of militants in the area, as it continues its operations to restore security to the province.

Citing “military sources,” official Syrian SANA news agency reported on Monday that during sweeping operations in villages of Jib al-Hinta, Jib Othman and Rasm al-Daheriya near Hama in the country’s west-central part, government forces further destroyed a large amount of weapons and ammunition belonging to the militants.

The state news agency also reported that Syrian armed forces repelled a militant attack on Mennigh Airport while engaging in separate cleansing operations in the major city of Aleppo and its surrounding countryside.

According to official sources cited in the report, Syrian army units confronted foreign-backed militants as they attempted to wage an assault on Mennigh Airport.

It added that the government forces further destroyed insurgent hideouts and their weaponry in villages surrounding the airport.

Moreover, the report noted, Syrian special operations forces engaged the militants in al-Mansoureh village, as well as al-Rashidin and al-Sakhour neighborhoods in Aleppo, killing a number of them.

Syria crisis started as pro-reform protests but with interventions from the United States, UK and their regional allies it soon turned to a massive insurgency which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and Middle East to wage one of the bloodiest wars the region has ever experienced.

The war, which many fear is turning to a “war of hatred”, has already taken more than 100,000 lives.

On June 22, foreign ministers of the countries supporting the militants fighting the Syrian government, including Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, agreed to provide the insurgents with weapons.

They also agreed "to channel all military support by relevant countries through the Staff Chairmanship of the Syrian Supreme Military Council."

On Friday, the militants announced that they had received new weapons that could lead to "change" in the war against the Syrian government.

On June 14, US President Barack Obama ordered his administration to provide the militants in Syria with more sophisticated weapons, claiming that the Syrian government had used “chemical weapons” against the militants and thus crossed Washington’s “red line.”

Last month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said militants from as many as 29 different countries are fighting against Syria.

string(856) "[{"id":"1486882","sort":"3040458","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/22/alalam_635075041814401927_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Libya rebellion arms flow to terrorists in Syria"} ,{"id":"1487060","sort":"3040459","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/23/alalam_635075762380685186_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Al-Alam goes to frontline of Syria's new ops"} ,{"id":"1487245","sort":"3040460","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/23/alalam_635076170321357502_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Britain encourages a military coup in Syria"} ,{"id":"1487443","sort":"3040461","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/24/alalam_635076839607106855_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Rohani brushes off military option on Syria"} ,{"id":"1487512","sort":"3040462","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/24/alalam_635076852133729392_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Syria: Arming rebels means arming terrorist al-Nusra"} ]"