The army has managed to take control of two strategic hills near the town of Yabrud.

Yabrud has been under control of the foreign-backed militants over the past months. It is the last major town in Qalamoun that the Syrian army is fighting to retake.

The town is located near the Lebanese border and explosives used in fatal bomb attacks in Lebanon are reportedly smuggled from the militant-held town.

The Syrian army continues mop-up operations against militant groups across the country.

On February 27, Syrian troops took control of the Brakat hill on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Aleppo.

Syrian forces recently ambushed a group of al-Qaeda-linked militants, killing at least 175 of them near the capital, Damascus.

The ambush attack near the village of Otaybeh claimed the lives of mostly Saudi, Qatari and Chechen militants, local media said.

Syria has been the scene of deadly violence since March 2011. Over 130,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil.

The Western powers and their regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - have been supporting the militants operating inside Syria, according to reports.

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