Scores Dead in Fierce Fighting near Damascus between Rebels, Hizbullah-Backed Regime Troops
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Scores of Syrian rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad were killed in fierce fighting Wednesday south of Damascus, where the army pressed a major offensive, an NGO said.
The fighting, between rebel brigades and regular troops, supported by pro-regime militia and elements of Hizbullah, took place in the areas of Husseiniyah, al-Thiyabiyeh and Bouaydah, as government warplanes pounded the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"At least 22 people, the majority of them rebels, including a commander," were killed, the Britain-based group said, without elaborating.
At the same time, it said "dozens" of regime forces were killed.
Earlier, the Observatory had said regular troops had reinforced their control of two villages separating Thiyabiyeh and Bouaydah.
For its part, the Local Coordination Committees, a group of militants on the ground, said the Abu Fadel Abbas Brigade composed mostly of Iraqi Shiites, along with Hizbullah fighters and elite troops were carrying out a major offensive.
State news agency SANA said government forces had "tightened their control over the town of Husseiniyah and the outskirts of al-Thiyabiyeh."
The two towns are located near the Shiite pilgrimage site of Sayyida Zeinab in the southern outskirts of Damascus.
Clashes has been reported in the area for months and fighters from Hizbullah, which backs Assad's regime, have been dispatched to protect the site.
Separately, rebels seized a guard post on the Jordanian border after a month of fierce fighting, the Observatory said.
"Rebel fighters took control of the Hajanah border battalion post near the city of Daraa after laying siege to it for two months and fierce clashes around it lasting a month," the NGO said.
Some of the border guard battalion had withdrawn, and there was no immediate word on any casualties during the post's capture.
The border post is adjacent to an old customs post seized by rebels days earlier.
With its capture, opposition forces now control a ribbon of territory along the border from outside Daraa to the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
In the northern city of Aleppo, the Observatory reported fighting in the Salaheddin neighborhood, where opposition rebels were advancing.
Clashes killed 10 troops, and deaths were reported among the rebels as well, the group said.
In the central city of Homs, rebel shelling of one of Syria's two main oil refineries set fire to the plant, already working at barely 10 percent of its capacity, the Observatory said.
09 October 2013, 21:53
514
Terrorists, assassins, changes at work in Syria.
May God curse them.
Long live the free syrians!
10 October 2013, 15:27
22
oh if the "observatory" and benzona said so, it must most definitely be true :)
09 October 2013, 23:24
116
exactly! that proves they r uneducated. they didn't go to their geography classes.
10 October 2013, 02:50
06
no hell and no heaven. so dying is always pointless. hate is pointless. and war is pointless. and this goes out to everyone, not any specific party. Wake up people
10 October 2013, 12:56
01
Killing innocent people whom they are and praising that for sure will lead you to hell, if you contend you are a believer.
09 October 2013, 22:05
1412
Long live the Islamic Secular Shia Only Resistance aka HA (Hussain Army) for engaging in fierce battles against those takfiri Sunni terrorists and their GCC sponsors. The noble resistance and its holy warriors' adherence to the dissociation policy and the Baabda declaration is obvious to all concerned. The resistance is keen on preserving peace and stability in Lebanon through its relentless efforts to bridge differences thru dialog with its political opponents within Lebanon, but will not give in an inch when it comes to fighting terrorism. The resistance has not dissolved the resistance brigades in Saida and will not abandon the oppressed Syrian people no matter what the sacrifices are. Bless Sayyed Hassanallah and give him long healthy life.....!
09 October 2013, 22:15
916
Sectarian criminals do what they do best, in Lebanon and outside Lebanon.
09 October 2013, 23:33
74
look at how lebanese react to something happening outside their border !!! Wow! just i wish to see you reacting like this when a poor Shepherd is kidnapped by Israel. Or even worse i would like to see you reacting like this on the Syrian shelling that hits lebanon every once and then. Or i wish to see you acting like this when Islamic terrorist cells are exposed in Lebanon or are planting and exploding cars. the Syrian Army represents legitimacy its the legitimacy of Authority. Hizbullah offcourse is not legitimate to be doing that but with or without Hizbullah the Syrian Army should defend the Legitimacy of the Authority system which is a system of every Country.
09 October 2013, 23:38
126
"the Legitimacy of the Authority system which is a system of every Country."
sure hezbis are defending the legitimacy of the syrian authority but denies the lebanese authority to be legitimate by:
1/ not abidding by the baabda declaration
2/ deciding of war and peace instead of letting this matter to the "legitimacy of the authority system" in lebanon which is a system of every country! LOL
see how hezbis do not care about their own country but work for others! LOL
10 October 2013, 00:05
85
i guess M8 was better in their promises that NOTHING was going on in syria... the revolution would be crushed by the next week... that just some cities were concerned... that bashar had everything under control... that there were no refugees in lebanon...
hahaha keep dreaming
10 October 2013, 00:11
82
Zionists. I tell ya, both sides are Zionists because only Israel benefits from this bloody civil war while they drill oil from disputed Lebanese territories, their economy is at highest levels, they engage in commerce with corporations owned or partially owned by Arabs and Persians, and the Palestinians still enjoy their lovely beautiful camps. Both sides are competing to show who is better serving Zionist goals. Take a lesson from the Egyptians.
10 October 2013, 05:19
50
Still can't get it right. It's "grammar" not "grammer".
How did they let you in to the US? Seriously?
10 October 2013, 05:32
13
@gabby14 I have read over all of @Tonyfarris comments. And from the little I could understand due to his lack of knowledge when it comes to the English language, I could easily say he did not speak one word of the truth. Most of the time he was trying unsuccessfully to spell the word "asshole". He is not very smart and you certainly are not either if you agree with him.
Good day.
10 October 2013, 07:28
81
I thought you were all promising this would be over next Tuesday. Or is it next next Tuesday? Maybe it is the mother of all Tuesdays?
10 October 2013, 07:54
15
hahaha another victory by HA and the brave SAA, the terrorists are losing more men than 86 countries can supply!
Whatever the so-called observatory reports, multiply by 5 rebel losses and substract 3/10s from regime troops.
If anyone doesn't really get into these things, let me tell you the SAA is winning since 3 months!
Fighting alongside alqaida, deserting poor lil idriss for alqaida en mass making 20000 fighters, the whiter kind of jihad, is doing them in. Also, fsa rebels who are actually syrian are taking up the amnesty deal, 30 yesterday, and 50 before that since they know who the enemy now are.
10 October 2013, 07:59
15
i'd hardly consider you an intellectual lol
i hope the nsa won't put you on the suspicious peoples list or worse by posting on a lebanese forum especially talking against terrorists they've abandoned; why don't you go fight there and you can apply to more than 86 countries for citizenship lol
10 October 2013, 08:15
15
yey! All the syrian rebels are defecting as of the past couple of months too, coz they know who the real enemies are, the takfiri terrorists numbering in the tens of thousands, at least 50% of the rebel terrorists
HA is always ahead of its time and will therefor always be underappreciated by the shortsighted
16 September 2014, 14:34
00
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