Syrian Forces Kill Scores of ISIL, Nusra Front Insurgents Nationwide

The Syrian army made advances against militants in provinces outside the capital city Damascus and near the Turkish border, Syrian state television reported Sunday.

BEIRUT, MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Government forces advanced toward the Zabadani district northwest of Damascus with the help of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, where eight insurgents were reported killed and nine others captured.

Up to 32 Islamic State fighters were reported killed in airstrikes over Quaryatayn in Homs province east of Damascus, where the militants reportedly kidnapped 230 Christians earlier this week.

It was unclear whether the kidnapped civilians have been liberated.

In the western coastal province of Lattakia bordering Turkey, state media reported government troops carrying out an offensive against the Nusra Front with the help of volunteer defense forces.

The Syrian army reportedly destroyed insurgents’ supply routes from Turkey and a number of arms depots in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), meanwhile, reported the deaths of five ISIL militants in northeast Hasakah province from airstrikes.

In the northwestern Ghab plain, government forces lost control of a number of villages despite the deaths of an estimated 50 ISIL and Nusra Front militants in 80 airstrikes.

SOHR reported Islamic State also gained control of a village in the northern Aleppo province, scores of civilian casualties were reported in Sunday’s fighting.