Army units took over control of northern and eastern portions of Mleha on Wednesday following a day-long clash with militants.
The Syrian troops further blocked a key access road to the town, which has been a target of numerous roadside bombings by the militants. The army units also cut off Mleha’s road links to the south.
Elsewhere, government troops eliminated more armed militant gangs during operations in areas surrounding the cities of Homs, Daraa, Lattakia and Idlib, inflicting major losses on the foreign-sponsored militants and knocking out their staging grounds and hideouts.
Citing military sources, Syrian state news agency SANA reported that army units foiled several infiltration attempts by armed militants in the outskirts of Homs, killing or wounding numerous militants and destroying their heavy weaponry.
Syrian forces also targeted militant staging areas in al-Rastan, Wadi al-Mira, Salam Gharbi, Slam Sharqi, Maasada, Saeed and Sultanyeh neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts, inflicting more casualties on enemy forces.
In Daraa al-Balad, meanwhile, army units ambushed a militant gang north of al-Yarmouk school, eliminating all its members.
Militant staging grounds in the al-Manshiyeh neighborhood of Daraa countryside were also attacked by Syrian troops killing and injuring scores of militants and destroying their equipment.
Also in Lattakia, government forces carried out operations against militant groups in the villages of Saqiet al-Kart, Arafed, Beit Awan, al-Khadra, al-Sawda and al-Forlq, killing 34 armed elements and injuring scores of others.
Three artillery cannons, nine vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns and three cars loaded with rockets were also destroyed during the operation.
In Idlib countryside, Syrian troops stormed militant staging grounds and hiding locations in Ein al-Sawda, al-Shoghour, al-Sarmaniyeh, Qastoun, Samas, the area surrounding al-Arba'in mountain, west of Abu Dahour and Talf, killing and injuring a huge number of militants, many of them non-Syrian intruders, according to SANA.
NTJ/NJF