SYRIAN authorities on Monday clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Zyara area in Idleb, state news agency SANA reported.
A source at the Province told SANA that the authorities destroyed two of the terrorists’ cars and confiscated a third one.
The source added that weapons and ammunition were seized from the car, adding that scores of terrorists were killed, among them was terrorist Nidal Eido.
In Deir Ezzor, authorities clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Ommal area in the city and inflicted heavy losses to the armed group.
In Aleppo countryside, the competent authorities confronted gunmen who attacked al-Sfireh area, causing them heavy losses while a number of gunmen fled away.
On Sunday, a suicide terrorist blew up his booby-trapped car in Mharada city in Hama, causing the death of three civilians and a law-enforcement personnel.
A source at the Province told SANA that the explosion claimed the lives of three civilians; Najah Shahhud (70 years old), Amal Nammo (pharmacist) and the child Munif al-Dahir, while others were injured.
The source added that Warrant Officer Ibrahim al-Qasim was also martyred at the explosion and five others were wounded.
Military engineering units on Saturday dismantled three explosive devices which were planted by an armed terrorist group in a bridge in al-Twaina village in al-Ghab area in Hama Province.
A SANA reporter was informed that each device, cylinders stuffed with explosives, weighed 25 kg, adding that they were planted to destroy the bridge.
Also on Saturday, Syrian authorities seized a car laden with an amount of various types of weapons near Talkalakh city.
The weapons, which were hidden under an amount of grocery, included an M-16 rifle, two Swiss-made sniper rifles, a BKC machinegun, two RPG launchers, a Russian rifle and a number of chargers and magazines.
In the countryside of al-Qseir in Homs, the authorities early Saturday morning repelled an attack by an armed terrorist group on the law enforcement forces in al-Hamidiyeh village.
Government forces clashed with the terrorist group causing heavy losses among its members and destroying a 4WD car equipped with a DShK machinegun.
No casualties were reported among the authorities’ members.
In a relevant context, the military engineering units dismantled two explosive devices planted by an armed terrorist group in al-Qseir area, adding that the weight of each device was 60 kg and were set to be remotely detonated.
In Aleppo, authorities stormed into a basement in Al-Zebdia neighbourhood after local residents had informed them that an armed terrorist group are taking the place as a den.
An official in the province said that five terrorists were arrested, adding that two explosive devices, three Swiss grenades, ammunition, six masks, identity cards, passports and car papers were found in the basement.
Authorities on Saturday pursued and clashed with an armed terrorist group on Jisr al-Shughur-Ariha road.
A source at the Province said that the terrorist group suffered heavy losses, adding that authorities destroyed the cars which were used by the terrorists.
Authorities also found a dungeon in the area used by terrorists to make explosive devices, the place contained remote controls, fertilizers and electric detonators.
Authorities clashed with an armed terrorist group at al-Rami town in Jabal al-Zawiya area, killing the majority of the terrorists, among them Basil Dabbas, Ibrahim Ismael and Majd Zain Iddin.
The terrorists’ weapons were confiscated, while a number of the law-enforcement personnel were wounded during the operation.
Also in Jisr al-Shughur, the authorities clashed with armed terrorist groups, killing and wounding scores of terrorists.
Two children were martyred and about ten others were injured, in an initial outcome, in explosion of an explosive device planted by a terrorist group next to Fatema al-Saqqa school at al-Baath neighbourhood in Hama province.
A Hama Police Command official said the armed group placed the device near the school and it was blown up when the children entered the school courtyard to play football.
The authorities in Hama province liberated two citizens, a veterinarian and a tractor driver, who had been abducted by an armed terrorist group that broke into the Agricultural Science Research Centre in al-Salamiya area.
An official source told SANA’s correspondent that the terrorist broke into the Centre and stole Awas sheep used for selective breeding there along with some furniture, in addition to abducting veterinarian Abdullah Najib al-Shawaf and driver Riyad Fawzi al-Mubarak who work for the Centre.
The source said that the authorities pursued the fleeing terrorists and clashed with them, managing to liberate the two abducted men and retrieve the stolen sheep and furniture.
On Saturday, two terrorists from the town of al-Treimseh in Hama countryside confessed to taking part in a series of murders and acts of terrorism before the army entered the town.
A third terrorist admitted to participating in abducting citizens to demand ransom and killing them afterwards.
In confessions broadcast by the Syrian TV on Saturday, terrorist Yousef Abdullah al-Mahmoud said that he was recruited by force along with his brother into the armed group led by Saleh al-Saba’awi.
Al-Mahmoud said that he and his brother accompanied al-Saba’awi and six other men and attacked two houses, with him breaking one of the houses’ doors and shooting at the roof, noting that he stayed outside with his brother upon al-Saba’awi’s orders while the rest entered the house and shot everyone inside, saying that he only saw a man and a woman but that there were more people inside.
He went on to say that they broke into the second house, with him staying outside like the first time and firing at the house, and the rest of the group entered the house and killed anyone inside.
In turn, terrorist Ahmad Abdullah al-Mahmoud, the aforementioned brother, corroborated his brother Yousef’s story, adding that al-Saba’awi told them that the houses contained army personnel, when in truth there were only civilian men and women who were shot dead by the terrorists.
For his part, terrorist Zaher al-Tayeh said that he took part in the abduction of a man from al-Safsafiye village along with two others, hijacking the man’s car and then interrogating him in an olive field before slitting his throat with a knife.
Al-Tayeh also confessed to abducting two others; one from al-Safsafiye and the other from the village of Khneizir, saying that they demanded a ransom of 400,000 Syrian pounds ($6,300) for the first one and 200,000 for the second, but their demands weren’t met so one of the abductors slit the victims’ throats as al-Tayeh watched.
At a Sunday news conference, Foreign and Expatriates Ministry spokeman, Dr. Jihad Makdissi, stressed what happened in al-Treimseh village in the countryside of Hama province was not a massacre but a military operation and armed clashes between the army forces and armed groups that do not believe in dialogue or the political solution.
Makdissi said the army forces did not use any heavy weapons upon entering the village in response to the residents’ pleas, adding that damage due to the clash was caused to only five buildings in which the terrorists were positioned along with their weapons.
He referred to a letter received by Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem from the UN envoy Kofi Annan regarding the events in al-Treimseh, which Makdissi described as ‘hasty to the furthest extent’ and not based on the reality of what happened in the village.
The spokesman said that al-Moallem for his part sent a reply letter to Annan which included general points in relation to what happened and asked for the letter to be circulated to the Security Council’s Head and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Makdissi added that the letter read that armed terrorist groups overran the village, were stationed in it, terrorized the citizens and set up leadership bases, weapons storehouses and places for torturing the kidnapped and launched attacks against a number of law enforcement forces points on the outskirts of the village, ‘which necessitated response and clashes.’
Makdissi noted that al-Treimseh is a small village of one square kilometre, dismissing tendentious media claims that the army used 150 tanks in such a narrow space as ‘belittling of people’s minds’.
He explained that ‘the army and law enforcement forces had entered al-Treimseh last January in response to pleas by the residents and departed with honour after consolidating security in it.’
‘Some people in the village who are from the opposition intellectually or who are dissatisfied with the crisis in Syria rejected to be seized by terrorist groups with weapons storehouses and dens to abduct and torture people and take any demands off the track,’ Makdissi added.
‘However, the armed groups,’ Makdissi continued, ‘again took hold of the village partially before taking full control of it to later establish weapons storehouses and turn the village into a base for terrorist acts and launching attacks against the army and law enforcement centres and the neighbouring villages.’
He said that the seized weapons included 45 machineguns, 13 Nato sniper rifles, 9 RPG launchers, 7 BKC machineguns, 3 mortars, 3 hand-made rockets, 14 pump-action rifles, 10 military pistols, 24 mortar shells, 32 RPG shells, 53 machinegun chargers, 30 sniper rifle chargers, 8 explosive devices, 10 grenades, 150 detonators, 1500 sniper rifle bullets, 5000 BKC machinegun bullets, 4200 machinegun bullets, 500 pistol bullets, 7 gas masks, 5 prism binoculars, 25 satellite wireless devices, 30 shields, in addition to materials for making explosive devices, explosives and large amounts of gunpowder, TNT templates, highly explosive C4 material, a field hospital and an amount of military equipment, stolen cars and registration licenses.
Makdissi concluded: ‘Whoever takes up arms against the state or those who do not believe in the political solution will be in confrontation with the army, while Syria’s doors are open to those who believe in the political solution and dialogue without any prohibitions.
‘All that we want is faith in this homeland.’
