Syrian troops regain control of two hotspots in capital

The Syrian army has regained control of the Damascus' suburbs of Daraya and Akraba after days of intense fighting with armed militias, a pro-government paper said Thursday. Quoting what it called as "a well-informed source," al-Watan daily said the losses among the armed militias are high but their number is very high also, and fully purging the areas will take some time. In Daraya, a sprawling western suburb that stretches on swathes of residential areas and orchards, the Syrian army regained full control of the area on Wednesday but is still purging some parts of it, the paper said, estimating that around 120 armed men are still hiding in buildings in Daraya and the army is tracking them down. The Akraba suburb, near the road to the international airport, the army also wrested back control over the area, the paper said, citing an official source as denying media reports that the armed rebels took control of a military airport in the area. The troops also continued operations in towns close to the international airport of Damascus, such as in Bait Sahem, Diabieh, and Hajjira, according to al-Watan, which also reported army operations in other restive suburbs of Damascus, including Douma and Arbeen. In the northern city of Aleppo, government soldiers repelled armed groups' attack on the central prison in the restive city on Wednesday. Meanwhile, another pro-government news network, Ajel, said the governor of the central province of Homs, Ghassan Abdul-Al, has survived an assassination attempt overnight in his house in Homs. The report, however, gave no further details.