Syrian state TV said on Tuesday that the army, using fighter aircraft, tanks and mortar units, had achieved a great success in Homs and killed a large number of terrorists.

The operation follows gains in Homs province by the Syrian troops in recent weeks.

The army established control over the strategically important town of Qusayr, between Homs and the Lebanese border, in early June. Syrian troops were backed by forces from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah during the Qusayr operation.

The Syrian army’s push against the militants rattled their sponsors.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said on June 26 that Saudi Arabia is trembling with fear because of the Syrian army’s recent successes against the militants.

In a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jeddah, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal insisted last week that the militants in Syria must be armed with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons.

Zoubi said that the Saudi weapons and money is the main reason behind bloodshed in Syria, adding that Faisal "is lost in the Syrian blood."

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and thousands of people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed.

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 -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants.

In addition, several international human rights organizations say the militants operating in Syria have committed war crimes.