Syrian troops recapture key area east of Damascus

The Syrian troops on Monday dislodged the rebels from a strategic area in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported.

The troops recaptured the area of Dukhaniyeh, an inner-city slum that is intricately overlapping a cluster of pro -government districts in eastern Damascus, said SANA, adding that the bomb squads have already started dismantling roadside bombs in the cleared area, and a number of tunnels dug by the rebels were also discovered by the Syrian troops.

The rebels attacked Dukhaniyeh last month in retaliation to the Syrian troops' wide-scale attacks against their positions in the eastern countryside of Damascus, mainly in the suburb of Jobar, which is a key rebel stronghold.

SANA said that the Syrian army forces also advanced in Jobar on Monday, capturing new residential blocks.

Rebels' influence in Jobar, two km northeast to the walls of the old city of Damascus, has threatened the administration of President Bashar al-Assad, since the suburb is next to the government-controlled eastern districts of the capital.

Throughout the country's four-year-old civil war, rebels in the suburb have repeatedly attempted to breach the capital from Jobar.

The fresh military advancement came at a time the Syrian military is marking the 41st anniversary of October War, also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, which was a war fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel from October 6 to 25, 1973.

SANA said the anniversary came as the Syrian army is further determined to perform the duty of defending the homeland and eradicating terrorism to foil conspiracies hatched against Syria by the west and its "dirty" tools. Enditem