Syria in Last 24 Hours - Sitrep

Some of the government's evacuation buses

See also Fars report 12/16:  "... A large number of Lebanese Hezbollah combatants arrived in Eastern Homs to assist the army to repel ISIL's attack on T4 airbase and take part in an imminent offensive to recapture the ancient city of Palmyra and energy-rich fields with the back-up of the Russian and Syrian fighter jets. ..."

And here is a video at FARS showing E. Aleppo civilians salvaging food from terrorist headquarters after the terrorists were forced to flee -- food aid that had been meant for the civilians. "Not as much as a piece of bread would they give us," explained one man.   
Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Evacuates All Except Radical Terrorists from Terrorist-Held Aleppo Areas

December 17, 2016
FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army and their allies managed to take all civilians, including women and children, from the regions in Eastern Aleppo which are still being controlled by the terrorists.

The Russian defense ministry confirmed the exit of all civilians from Eastern Aleppo, and announced that only some terrorists are still in few areas under their control in Eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian army troops also continued their advances in other key provinces across Syria.

Aleppo

All women and children have been evacuated from militant-controlled parts of Eastern Aleppo, and only radicals now remain there and are firing at the Syrian army forces, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed.

“All women and children who were in militant-controlled districts have been evacuated," RT reported.

“The operation of the Russian Center for Reconciliation to evacuate militants and their families from the Eastern districts of Aleppo is now complete,” the center, with the aim to bring about peace between the warring parties in Syria, said in a statement.

It added that over 4,500 militants have been evacuated along with their families, as well as 337 wounded.

A total of over 9,500 people have been moved out of the militant-held Eastern Aleppo since the operation was launched on Thursday.

The evacuees from the last convoy told authorities that everyone who wanted to leave the militant-held area had done so.

“In some areas, there are still groups of militants from radical and irreconcilable gangs, who are firing at Syria troops,” the statement noted. It added that Syrian Army units are continuing the liberation of the militant-held districts of the city.

According to the latest figures from the Russian Defense ministry, only 2 percent of Aleppo is still controlled by militants.

Idlib

Fatah al-Sham Front (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) agreed to eventually allow evacuation of the wounded and patients from the besieged towns of Fua'a and Kafraya in Northern Idlib after hours of sabotaging and violating terms of an agreement with Damascus.

"Buses moved from Aleppo to Kafraya and Fua'a to evacuate the injured, children and women from the predominately Shiite towns, transferring them to the government-controlled regions," sources privy to opposition groups said.

"Nearly 200 buses and several ambulances have been dispatched to Fua'a and Kafraya," the sources added.

Reports said earlier on Friday that Fatah al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham did not allow any ambulance or bus to leave Fua'a and Kafraya, while an agreement reached by the Syrian government and Jeish al-Fatah coalition of terrorist groups allows evacuation of militants and their families from Aleppo in return for transferring the injured, patients and the elderly trapped in the predominately Shiite towns to army-controlled regions.

Some people who are originally from Fua'a and Kafraya and their families and friends are trapped inside the two towns came to Ramouseh to Southern Aleppo to block the relocation of Aleppo militants and their families to Idlib through Ramouseh. They said that they will continue to block al-Ramouseh corridor till the militants allow the injured and patients to leave Fua'a and Kafraya.

[Pundita note: See another FARS report, from yesterday, Syria: Militants Agree with Evacuation of Fua'a, Kafraya Civilians; obviously FARS is doing the best it can to keep up with a situation that is still in flux.]

Media sources said militants have opened fire at those people who have closed al-Ramouseh corridor to prevent exit of militant and their families in a retaliatory move. 

Homs

At least 52 terrorists of ISIL, including non-Syrian commanders, were killed and many more were wounded in the Syrian army troops' attacks near the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur).

The army units targeted ISIL's positions in Tadmur region, killing 52 militants, including Obayd al-Na'eimi, Neskhadov Khan from Chechnya, Abu Torab al-Maleki from Saudi Arabia and Head of ISIL's information Hamad al-Hajajami.

A workshop of terrorists used to manufacture hell canons and another missile-building workshop came under attacks by the Syrian soldiers in al-Rastan North of Homs.

In the meantime, five bomb-laden suicide vehicles of the ISIL were destroyed in the army attack.

Meanwhile, army's artillery units pounded bases of Fatah al-Sham Front (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) in al-Za'afaraniyeh and al-Qantou in Northern Homs, leaving a number of militants dead.

Reports said earlier today that the Syrian Air Force carried out several combat flights over ISIL's positions in the Western and Southwestern directions of the ancient city of Palmyra in Eastern Homs, killing 116 militants and wounding many more.

The fighter jets pounded ISIL's positions in the regions of Abu Kaleh Dam and Qasr al-Hayer, killing 116 terrorists and destroying 12 vehicles, including bomb-laden ones.

The Syrian state news agency reported that over 70 ISIL militants were killed in air raid in Albu Kaleh and several rocket launchers and machinegun-equipped vehicles were destroyed.

In the meantime, over 46 ISIL fighters were killed and seven machinegun-equipped vehicles and five bomb-laden suicide cars were destroyed in army aircraft's raid in Qasr al-Hayer, the agency added.

The Syrian army troops for their part targeted ISIL's positions near al-Katibeh al-Mahjoureh.

Raqqa

The predominately Kurdish ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) won five more villages in the second phase of the Euphrates Rage Operation to take control over Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of ISIL terrorists.

The SDF continued to beat back ISIL terrorists from more lands in Western direction of Raqqa and took control over the villages of al-Mashout, al-Khafijeh, al-Sayer, Doha and Abu Ardani, killing a number of militants in the second phase of the Euphrates Rage Operation.

The engineering units started to defuse bombs and landmines planted by the terrorists in the region as soon as winning back villages.

Also the SDF engaged in heavy fighting with ISIL terrorists and pushed them back from the villages of Ajaj 54km to the Northwest of Raqqa city and Safakhiz 31km to the East of Tishrin Dam on Thursday, killing or wounding several terrorists and capturing a militant.

In the meantime, other units of the SDF managed to advance 17km towards Raqqa city from al-Qaderiyeh flank and after killing at least four ISIL terrorists they took control of the villages of Shalaliyeh and Majban 53km to the West of Raqqa city.

Also the SDF engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL terrorists and managed to advance 8 kilometers against them in the battlefield on Monday, capturing the villages of Marwaniyeh, Jabal Karjeh, al-Hamireh al-Saqireh, al-Hamireh al-Kabireh, Qarudaneh and Doraniyeh.

The SDF seized also a large volume of arms and ammunition from the ISIL during the advances.

The Kurdish fighters further stormed ISIL's defense lines and beat the terrorists back from the villages of Kardusha, Bashtulka, Tulkabadlika, Ranhabas, al-Shatriyeh, Sikul and several farms West of Raqqa city, leaving also 15 militants dead.

Hama

Terrorist groups targeted a key passageway in Northwestern Hama and blocked the movement of a convoy of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) heading towards Northern Idlib to evacuate injured people from the two militant-besieged towns of Fua'a and Kafraya.

Terrorist groups' missile units targeted al-Soqaylbiyeh passageway connecting Northwestern Hama to Southern Idlib to stop the SARC' convoy and buses' movement to Fua'a and Kafraya in Northern Idlib to transfer the injured, patients and the elderly to government-held areas.

The SARC convoy and buses that were to go through al-Soqaylbiyeh passage way are still stopping at Tal Baqlo-Al-Madiq Fort in Northwestern Hama.

[END REPORT]

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