A unit of the army targeted an armed terrorist group in Tesil area in the western countryside of Daraa on Wednesday, killing all its members, including the ringleader Yaser Abu Yahya, SANA reported.

A military source told SANA that army units killed and injured a number of militants in al-Zabayer area in Allajat, al-Samaqiyat farms and Etman town in the countryside and the surrounding of al-Hajeh town in Quneitra countryside.

The army also destroyed a number of the militants’ cars equipped with heavy machineguns in the operation.

On Tuesday, the Syrian troops continued their operations in al-Qalamoun area in the countryside of the capital Damascus, killing a number of the militants.

The army also killed and injured many militants and destroyed their hideouts in several other areas around the capital, including Douma, al-Batra'a, and Jobar.

Elsewhere, in Daret Ezza area in the countryside of Aleppo, an army unit killed 22 terrorists and wounded ten others, according to a military source. An infiltration attempt by militants toward Barrakat al-Arman area in the city was also foiled.

The army killed scores of the militants in Daraa countryside. Syrian troops also inflicted heavy losses on the militants in the province of Idlib.

In a similar move by the army, Syrian forces killed a number of militants in the port city of Latakia.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. The West and its regional allies have been fuelling the unrest by providing militants with money and weapons.

According to some reports, more than 140,000 people have been killed in the ongoing militancy in Syria and a total of 7.8 million others have been displaced due to the violence.

HH/HH