Army soldiers have been moving apace in Homs which has been scene of fierce battles in the past couple of months and was the epicenter of the bloody insurgency that has gripped Syria for nearly three years.
The Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque which was militants’ last main base in the city has now fallen into the hands of the Syrian army.
State-run news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying that troops took control of the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Mosque in the heavily disputed northern neighborhood of Khaldiyeh.
The army is reported to be in control of 80% of Khaldiyeh as well.
Syrian TV aired a report Saturday night with footage from inside the mosque, showing heavy damage and the tomb's dome knocked out.
The footage showed debris strewn on the floor and a portion of the mosque appeared to have been burned.
An al-Alam reporter for was wounded near the mosque. A sniper's bullet struck the thigh of female journalist Roa al-Ali.
In the face of army advancements, militants had started to target civilians with car bombs and mortar shells in Homs. With the fall of their final base, threats against people are expected to be highly eliminated.
Homs is a vast province lying across Syria from east to west and has witnessed major battles between the army and insurgents during the crisis in Syria.
Army’s June victory in the battle for Qusayr, a town located near Lebanon borders, was a major breakthrough for Syria against thousands of militants pouring to the country through border areas in Qusayr.
The war in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following 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.
As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government boosts its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.
Washington has remained indifferent about warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.
SHI/SHI