In response to recent army gains in the city, militants have posted videos online, showing themselves with explosive belts and pledging to detonate if Syrian soldiers regain control of the city's central mosque.

The Syrian army has been advancing apace in Homs, looking to break a lengthy stalemate in the city, which has been the scene of fierce fighting over the past year.

The extremist groups, which have committed numerous atrocities in their war against government forces, are citing lack of arms from the West and little support from other pro-militant factions elsewhere in the country for the new violent move. 

The two sides have been trading artillery fire in Homs for months, but the army started an all-out operation on May 30th to purge the city from foreign-backed militants.

Homs was the epicenter of the bloody insurgency that has gripped Syria for more than two years now.

The Syrian crisis started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

A recent UN report says more than 93,000 people, including over 6500 children, have lost their lives in the unreleting violence gripping Syria.

SHI/AA