DAMASCUS, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army announced Monday that its troops successfully regained full control over the strategic al-Khalidieh district in central Homs province after a series of precise operations there, according to the state-TV.
The operations are still ongoing in the surrounding districts of al-Khalidieh to dislodge the armed terrorist groups, the Syrian army said in a statement. It said that the operation in al- Khalidieh is extremely important due to its strategic location that would change the course of battles in the old Homs area in favor of the army.
The statement said the army would continue its "heroic" operations to purge all Syrian soil from terrorism.
The army unleashed a wide-scale offensive last week against the strategic district, which is one of the few districts still under the rebels' control in the Homs province.
The Syrian government troops have focused most of its efforts to secure Homs. Its latest important gain was the recapturing of the city of al-Qussair on the borders with Lebanon last month.
Experts said the army is working on securing southern and central areas in Syria before opening a large-scale offensive to recapture the northern province of Aleppo, which was largely seized by al-Qaida-linked groups, mainly the Nusra Front.
The United Nations said recently that more than 100,000 people had been killed in Syria's 28-month crisis, with about 1.7 million being forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
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