The army and its allies started operations to cleanse the strategic Handarat refugee camp of terrorists on Tuesday morning and they could drive back the Ahrar al-Sham militants from the Northern heights of Handarat camp after heavy clashes.

The terrorists withdrew from the Northern heights of Handarat after sustaining tens of casualties in the army's surprise attack.

Liberation of Handarat heights is the first step towards retaking the entire refugee camp from the terrorists.

The Syrian Army declared end of ceasefire on Monday, regretting that militants did not adhere to any of the provisions stated in the truce agreement.

The Syrian army reaffirmed commitment to fight against terror after the end of truce, and did not add whether the truce will be reinstated any time in future.

The truce started last week. On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a new peace plan to address the conflict in Syria that called for a ceasefire and anti-terrorism cooperation among other clauses of the treaty.

According to the Russian General Staff, the terrorist groups in Syria have violated the ceasefire over 300 times since it took effect, FNA reported.

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