Army units continued their mop-up operations in the key al-Mleiha region situated in the Eastern Ghouta region near capital Damascus, killing at least 13 insurgents, the official SANA news agency reported on Sunday.

Syrian soldiers also clashed with intruding armed elements in Jobar, Erbin, Adra al-Balad, and Darayaa in the countryside of the capital, killing numerous militants.

Government troops further targeted staging centers of various insurgent groups in the areas of Hemmin, Nawa, Tsil and between Tall Ashtara and al-Teira in the countryside of Daraa, inflicting heavy losses upon them.

Elsewhere, in al-Ramouseh and al-Amriyeh neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syrian soldiers killed and injured scores of militants.

Syrian army units also stormed militants’ hideouts in al-Jandoul, Bani Zaid, al-Layramoun, al-Kastilo, al-Sheikh Said and Kfar Dael neighborhoods, killing scores of them and destroying their weapons.

Over the past months, the Syrian army has achieved major victories in its battle against Takfiri groups across the Arab country, particularly in the Qalamoun region near the Lebanese border.

The new army gains come as Syria is preparing to hold an important presidential election on June 3.

Last month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the Takfiri war in his country had strongly shifted in favor of government forces as they had made continuous gains in their battle against terrorists.

President Assad has also pledged to strike terror “with an iron fist.”

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