Syrian Gov’t Forces Regained Initiative From Terrorists in Civil War

Syrian government forces have managed to gain initiative in the antiterrorist fight amid the nation’s ongoing conflict, the head of the political department of the Syrian Army told Sputnik.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — Syrian government forces, supported by the foreign actors, have managed to push ahead of terrorists in the nation’s ongoing conflict and stave off aggression, Col. Usama Khaddur, the head of the political department of the Syrian Army, told Sputnik.

"Today I can say that the Syrian Arab Army with the support of its friends and allies was able to suppress this aggressive war and regain the initiative," the military official said.

Damascus has successfully taken back control of most Syrian cities, while the militants are currently being besieged in separate territories and engulfed in internal strife, Khaddur said.

"For over six years Syria has been in a severe terrorist war due to its geostrategic location … This war is led by the terrorist groups, which receive all kinds of military and political support from a very large number of regimes within the region and around the world," the official added.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting Syrian opposition groups striving to overthrow the president. Damascus is also fighting numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as the Jabhat Fatah al Sham and the Islamic State, both outlawed in Russia.