"The Syrian army is progressing in the village of Ras al-Ain, southwest of Yabroud, killing a large number of terrorists," said SANA.

Earlier, a security source told AFP the army had taken control of several hills overlooking the village.

The army seized the strategic town of Yabroud Sunday after a month of shelling and air strikes, as it moves to sever foreign backed militant groups’ supply routes across the border.

The army has now set its sights on the villages of Rankus, south of Yabrud, and Flita and Ras al-Maara, to its northwest.

Elsewhere, Syrian army troops also held some operations in northern city of Aleppo.

The army troops battled militants, including the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front, leaving at least dozen militants dead.

In the Damascus area, five people were killed by militant groups’ mortar fire, state news agency SANA reported.

Four people were killed in the Jaramana suburb, southeast of the capital, and another in the city itself, SANA added.

In the central Syrian city of Homs, five people were killed and 25 others wounded in a mortar attack against Mahata, a majority Christian area, and Inshaat, in the west of the city, SANA added.

More than 146,000 people have been killed in Syria's three-year war, and nearly half the population has been displaced.

NJF/NJF