The figures under pursuit were arrested near the Yermouk camp in Damascus, Al-Alam reporter said.

Another key figure of the group was also arrested near Holy Shrine of Hazrat Zainab (AS) in southern suburb of Damascus on Tuesday.

Later, the fighting spread in Deir ez-Zor Governorate where at least eight militants were killed in their clashes with army troops.

The clashes came following militants’ initiative to explode a main gas pipeline in the nearby city of Akidat. The militants decided to enter the city through al-Baghiliah crossing.

A mortar shell also fired by foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government has killed three civilians in al-Ghouta in the western province of Homs.

On Monday, the mortar shell, which fell near the directorate of Health in al-Ghouta neighborhood, also injured many people and caused material damages to houses and cars in the vicinity, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.

Earlier, Syrian forces also launched attacks against the militants in the governorates of Idlib, Daraya, Lattakia, Homs, Daraa, and Aleppo on Sunday and killed a large number of them.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to the UN, more than 90,000 people have been killed and millions of others displaced in the violence.

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.

NJF/NJF