Syrian army foils major Islamic State attack in southeast SyriaJuly 4, 2018 - 19:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), alongside their allies from the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), were able to beat back a major attack by theIslamic State (IS) group in southeast Syria on Wednesday, July 4. According to the NDF, the Islamic State launched a surprise attack on their government positions at Tal Bassir on Wednesday morning in a bid to overwhelm the latter in eastern Al-Sweida. However, the Islamic State attack would fall short of its objective, as their terrorist combatants were spotted moving towards the government’s positions before launching the assault. The NDF said at least one Islamic State fighter was captured during the assault, while five more were either killed or wounded. The Islamic State has been recently launching big attacks in the eastern countryside of Al-Sweida, which have been relatively successful until Wednesday. Last week, the Islamic State was able to recapture several points around the Safa Canyon of Al-Sweida, forcing the Syrian Army and their allies to fall back from the area. With the Syrian Army troops mostly bogged down in southern Syria, the Islamic State has been taking advantage of their weak defenses around the eastern countryside of the Al-Sweida. Photo. Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |