TASS, June 16. The Syrian troops backed by militias from the National Defense Forces have seized Tell Maleh strategic heights in the northwest of the Hama Governorate, the Al-Masdar news portal has reported.
According to the portal, during the offensive operation the forces defeated terrorists from the Jabhat Al-Nusra (terror group, outlawed in Russia) and returned the heights under their control.
The Syrian troops have also liberated the Al Jebin settlement, thus restoring control over a highway between the towns of Mharde and Sukeylabiya.
On June 7, the army and the militias liberated the Tell Maleh strategic heights from terrorists. However, several days later the forces retreated in order to avoid a greater number of casualties.
The elite Syrian army’s Tiger Forces, led by General Suheil al-Hassan, are now fighting for the Tal al-Sakhr heights, to the north of Kafr Nabuda. The control over them will enable the government forces to get access to a major terrorists’ stronghold in Khan Shaykhun in the south of the Idlib Governorate near the Hama-Aleppo strategic highway.
Since early May, the Syrian forces have liberated more than 20 towns and villages, thus significantly expanding their control over the country’s northwest. The operation is carried out by the republic’s command with the goal of ensuring security of civilian areas in the central Hama Governorate, which had been attacked by terrorists.