TUNIS, December 5. /TASS/. Armed terrorist groups have been sustaining heavy losses in manpower and materiel in Hama province in western Syria in ongoing clashes with the Syrian army, the Defense Ministry has said.
"Our forces operating in Hama are engaged in fierce battles with armed terrorist organizations that have sustained heavy losses in manpower and materiel," it said. As a result of artillery, missile and airstrikes by Syrian aviation with Russian support on terrorists' concentrations and convoys "dozens of them were killed and wounded, and most of their weapons and equipment were destroyed."
Since Tuesday morning, fierce clashes between the Syrian army and militants have been underway in Hama province. In the first half of the day it was reported that the Syrian forces had managed to push back the militants from the quarters of the city of Hama (the administrative center of the province) at least 20 kilometers and take control of its environs, but the fighting continued. The Al Ekhbariya TV channel reported that large reinforcements arrived to support the army units near Al-Saan in northeastern Hama.
On Wednesday evening, the Syrian Defense Ministry denied that militants had infiltrated into Hama. It said the armed forces were in control of the city and ready to repel a possible attack.
On the morning of November 27, the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia) carried out a large-scale attack in northern Syria. According to the Syrian Armed Forces’ Command, the terrorists tried to attack villages and towns defended by the Syrian army and military facilities. The Syrian Army launched an operation to repel the raid. On November 30, the Armed Forces’ Command stated that the army was targeting the positions of terrorists who had managed to penetrate many neighborhoods of Aleppo. According to the Defense Ministry's statement, the Syrian army was forced to regroup its forces to protect the lives of civilians and soldiers and prepare for a counterattack.