Syrian army kills tens of "terrorists" near Ayn al-Arab

The Syrian troops on Thursday killed tens of "terrorists" in the countryside of the predominantly Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, in northern Syria, according to the state news agency SANA.

The incident marked a rare instance when the Syrian troops actually targeted the extremist fighters near Ayn al-Arab, where the Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units and some Syrian rebels have been engaged in months-long intense battles against the Islamic State (IS) militants.

Activists previously said that the Kurdish militants are the only party fighting the IS in Ayn al-Arab.

Meanwhile, the report said the Syrian government forces killed undisclosed number of Jordanian combatants fighting alongside the rebels in the Eastern al-Ghouta sprawling suburb east of the capital Damascus and the rugged al-Qalamoun region in northern Damascus.

On the opposition side, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the IS on Thursday executed six Syrians in the terror group's de facto capital of al-Raqqa in northern Syria on charges of belonging to anti-IS groups, known as "Awakenings."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that the region is going through a "critical juncture," adding that the international acknowledgment of the threats of terrorism is one of the factors determining the future of the region.

Speaking to members of the ruling al-Baath Party in a meeting, Assad said that the Syrian army will keep confronting the terrorist groups and continue to achieve national reconciliation in the country. Enditem