At least 29 people were killed over the past 24 hours in attacks carried out by the Assad regime in Syria’s southern Daraa province.

On Monday evening, the regime and its allies launched a ground offensive -- supported by Russian air power -- following four earlier attempts to storm Daraa’s northeastern town of Busra al-Harir.

Recent days have seen Syrian regime forces and their Iran-backed allies advance to the town’s outskirts, where they have continued to clash with armed opposition groups.

According to local civil-defense sources, at least 29 people have been killed by repeated regime attacks, especially in the towns of Busra al-Harir, Al-Hirak, Al-Sourah and Nahtah.

Busra al-Harir is of particular strategic value, as it represents the only means of accessing Daraa’s eastern countryside.

While airstrikes in support of the operation began about 10 days ago, they have reportedly intensified over the last 48 hours. </s> As of the earliest morning hours of Wednesday June 27th, we have the following report made exclusively for FRN:The Syrian Army has been on a rampage in southern Syria against terrorist forces, showing no mercy andfrom the clutches of US-backed jihadists.The Syrian Army launched its operations against terrorist forces a week ago in the southern Syrian province of Dara'a in a bid to clear a huge chunk of the Syrian-Jordanian border.The Syrian Army thus far has liberatedfrom terrorist forces, mostly concentrated on the rocky plateau of the Al-Lajat region of eastern Dara'a province. After liberating this region and the villages within it, the elite Tiger Forces of the Syrian Army yesterday began a night assault on Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra positions in the key town of Busra al-Harir.The liberation of Busra al-Harir now means that the Tiger Forces can now concentrate their attacks on the town of Al-Hirak, one of the most important towns in the eastern Dara'a countryside.Away from the eastern countryside, the elite 4th Mechanized Units and the Republican Guards of the Syrian Army have began their assault to liberate the southern districts of Dara'a city. The Syrian Army for years has controlled the northern districts but have not been able to crack jihadist defenses to liberate the rest of the city. However,Thus far, the Syrian Arab Army has attempted to liberate silos and a Palestinian refugee camp in Dara'a countryside.Meanwhile, in the western countryside, the Syrian Army have not yet attempted to liberate any territory or towns. It is assumed this will begin once the eastern countryside is secured. The western countryside contains much larger towns, and the bulk of Al-Nusra fighters as well as ISIS. </s> July 18 (UPI) -- Buses arrived to evacuate residents from two besieged towns in Syria on Wednesday as part of a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey.

A total of 120 buses were sent to evacuate about 7,000 residents from the towns of Foua and Kefraya.

Syrian media reported the buses will resettle the residents of the two towns to the Aleppo suburb of Jibreen.

Residents of a third town, Ishtabrak, are also being evacuated to the coastal region of Latakia.

The evacuation came after Russia and Turkey brokered a deal in which the Syrian government agreed to release about 1,500 rebel prisoners.

Rebel fighters were also evacuated from the southern region of Daraa to the rebel-held city of Idlib.

Daraa Governor Mohammed Khaled al-Hanous congratulated government forces and the residents of Busra al-Sham on what he described as a "great victory."

Last year more than a dozen people died after a car bomb detonated near a bus convoy of Syrian evacuees from the two towns. </s> AMMAN - Russian jets struck on Sunday an opposition held town in southwest Syria, opposition sources said, in the first air cover provided by Moscow to an expanding Syrian army offensive to recapture the strategic area bordering Jordan and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights.

Two tracking centers that monitor military aircraft movements recorded at least twenty strikes on Busra al Harir, two sources told Reuters.Syrian government forces had so far made heavy use of artillery and rockets in the assault begun last week and Russian warplanes that were critical to the recovery of other rebel-held areas had not been deployed until now. </s> BEIRUT — Syrian state media say government forces have advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sunday troops have made territorial gains in al-Lujat and other areas including the village of Jadal on the eastern edge of Daraa province where fighting has concentrated for the past five days.

Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said thousands of people are fleeing the government offensive, adding that airstrikes have intensified since the early hours of Sunday.

State news agency SANA said that rebels shelled the southern government-held city of Sweida wounding three people in the government offensive on the region that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Syrian troops advance in their offensive in country's south

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media say government forces have advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sunday troops have made territorial gains in al-Lujat and other areas including the village of Jadal on the eastern edge of Daraa province where fighting has concentrated for the past five days.

Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said thousands of people are fleeing the government offensive, adding that airstrikes have intensified since the early hours of Sunday.

State news agency SANA said that rebels shelled the southern government-held city of Sweida wounding three people in the government offensive on the region that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. </s> DAMASCUS, SYRIA (12:35 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army’s “Tiger Forces” have advanced deep inside the strategic Hanano District in the eastern pocket of Aleppo today, capturing a number of sites that were previously under the control of Fatah Halab.

The Tiger Forces began their assault this morning by storming the central sector of Hanano, resulting in a violent battle with the jihadist rebels that is still ongoing at the moment.

According to a military source, the Syrian Armed Forces have once again captured most of Hanano, leaving only a quarter of the district still under the control of Fatah Halab and their allies in east Aleppo.

Meanwhile, south of the Hanano District, the Syrian Arab Army’s Republican Guard forces, alongside Liwaa Suqour Al-Sahra (Desert Hawks Brigade), launched a new attack on ‘Ard Al-Hamra; this resulted in a heated battle at the central sector of this district.

In ‘Ard Al-Hamra’s vicinity, another force from the Republican Guard and Liwaa Al-Quds (Palestinian paramilitary) attempted to seize the Jabal Badro District; however, no gains have been reported thus far.

Advertisements </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:00 P.M.) – For the first time since 2014, Syria’s entire border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has been declared militant-free after both the rebel and Islamic State (ISIS) fighters conceded their last positions.

According to a military report from the Daraa Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Armored Division was able to seize the Islamic State’s last border points this afternoon, following a fierce battle with the terrorist group’s Jaysh Khaled bin Walid faction.

Meanwhile, at the Shajarah front, the Syrian Arab Army’s Tiger Forces branch overpowered the remaining Islamic State terrorists at this key town, resulting in the capture of the latter’s last major stronghold in the Daraa Governorate.

With the border of the occupied Golan Heights cleared and Shajarah liberated, the Syrian Arab Army is on the verge of seizing the last 50 square kilometers of territory that is still under the occupation of the Jaysh Khaled bin Walid forces.

Once this last Islamic State pocket is cleared, the Syrian Arab Army will have full control of the Yarmouk Basin region and the entire Daraa Governorate for the first time since 2011. </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army supported by Iranian backed militias seized new oil fields in the desert in the southwest of Raqqa province on Monday in new advances against retreating Islamic state militants.

The Syrian army said on state media they had taken al Daylaa oil field alongside the Zamla gas field in large stretches of territory the militant group have been pulling out of in recent weeks to defend their remaining possessions in Syria.

On Saturday the army said they taken control of Wahab, al Fahd, Dbaysan, al-Qseer, Abu al Qatat and Abu Qatash oil fields and several other villages in the desert area that lies in the southwest of Raqqa province.

Most of Syria's oil fields are mainly located in the northeastern province of Hasaka which is the hands of Kurdish YPG militia and also in Raqqa province where the militants have been losing large swathes of territory to advancing U.S. backed forces now battling them inside Raqqa city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian army, supported by Iranian-backed militias from Iraq and Lebanon, was now on the edge of the Bushra chain of mountains, a main militant hideout 55 km west of Deir Zor city.

State media said Russian jets also bombed the area around Sukhna town further south, which is the gateway to the eastern province of Deir al-Zor that borders Iraq and likely to be the militants' last major bastion in Syria if Raqqa falls.

The army's capture last week of the major Hail gas field northeast of the ancient city brought them 18 kms to the south of Sukhna.

On Monday, an army statement said they had captured key areas west of Sukhna and killed scores of Islamic State militants as they steadily advanced towards the town whose capture would ease the path towards Deir al Zor.
Syrian Army troops and Liwa al-Quds militiamen seize control of the strategic town of Busra al-Harir in the southern Daraa Governorate. Around 45,000 people have been displaced in the region due to recent fighting.