Our correspondent reported on Tuesday that the Syrian armed forces cleared Khalidiya from foreign-backed terrorists and hunted many of them fleeing toward other neighborhoods of Homs.

Hossein Morteza added that the recent victory of army in Khalidiya will accelerate the Syrian troops’ advancement in Homs Old City particularly in al-Qarabis, Jouret al-Shayah and other districts.

Clashes between Syrian army and armed terrorists continue in neighborhood of Qal’at al-Hosn, a citadel in Homs, said Morteza, adding the army concentrates its attacks on areas seem to be terrorists’ strongholds.

Khalidiya was one of the most important battlefields in Syrian army operations in the city of Homs which was the epicenter of the bloody insurgency that has gripped Syria for nearly three years.

On Sunday, the army retook Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque which was occupied by militants during the whole war and was their main base in the area.

The foreign-backed militants had announced before that the mosque was their last base and threatened to start suicide attacks if the army got closer to the mosque.
The unrest in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following intervention of western and regional states.

Many Syrians who sided with the opposition at start of the protests have now turned to side with the government and the army to defend their country against foreign-backed extremists.

NTJ/BA