Backed by helicopter gunships, Syrian troops attacked militant positions in the hilltop village of Tal Sawwan in the western province of Homs on Wednesday in a bid to retake the strategic al-Sha'er Mountains.

According to government sources, a large number of terrorists were killed while many others fled their positions.

Syrian troops also destroyed a training camp for the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant group, the al-Qaeda branch in Syria formerly known as al-Nusra Front, northwest of Kisin village in Daraa province.

Earlier, terrorist positions in the towns of Talbiseh, al-Rastan, Um Sharshouh and al-Ghantoo in Daraa came under government attacks, in which an unknown number of terrorists were killed and their weapons destroyed.

Elsewhere in the al-Sad and al-Bajabjeh districts of Daraa al-Balad region, Syrian forces killed several terrorists affiliated with the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group.

Syrian troops also launched an offensive in the Da'el town, located approximately 14 kilometers north of Daraa, killing a number of terrorists and destroying their vehicles.

Moreover, militant positions in the villages of Khan Tuman, Maarata, Kafr Hamrah, Haritan and Babis in the northwestern province of Aleppo were targeted by Syrian jets, leaving scores of terrorists dead.

Army units also thwarted separate attacks by Jaish al-Fatah, Jund al-Aqsa and Ahrar al-Sham terrorists on Karah and al-Zaghba villages in the Hama province, killing more than 70 extremists.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to an estimate by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

Takfiri militants active in the conflict-ridden Arab country have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to wrest control over several important areas, Press TV reported.

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