Syrian troops, backed by air strikes, advance toward southern town

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian troops backed by heavy aerial bombardment pushed toward a strategic town in the southern province of Deraa on Tuesday, December 29 after capturing a nearby military base, the army said, according to Reuters.

The Syrian army said it retook Brigade 82, one of the largest bases north of the mainly rebel-held town of Sheikh Maskin, whose capture by rebels earlier this year threatened the army's supply routes to the south.

A group monitoring the war said later on Tuesday that insurgents were putting up fierce resistance and that fighting raged on, counting more than two dozen air strikes during the assault.

The army offensive toward Sheikh Maskin is part of the first major assault in southern Syria since Russia launched air strikes on Sept. 30 to support its ally President Bashar al-Assad.

The army also said in a news flash on state television it had recaptured the Al Hesh hills, northwest of Sheikh Maskin. The hilltops, held by the rebels for about a year, overlook much of rebel-held western Deraa.

The aerial bombardment supporting Tuesday's ground offensive appeared to be carried out by Russian jets, the monitoring group said.

Russia has until recently focused its bombing on insurgent targets in northwestern Syria and coastal areas to help the Syrian army claw back territory it lost earlier this year.

Sheikh Maskin, the main goal of the army's southern campaign, lies on one of the main supply routes from the capital Damascus to the city of Deraa, close to the border with Jordan.

Activists say Russian air strikes, in which missiles and bombs are launched from high altitude, are distinct from Syrian air force strikes which rely more on untreated barrel bombs dropped from helicopters flying at lesser height.

Russian strikes tend to be more concentrated and precise, using several aircraft rather than the one frequently deployed by Syria's military. Residents say their munitions also leave deeper craters.

The recapture of Sheikh Maskin, located at the heart of Deraa province, would consolidate the army's hold over the heavily fortified region which has formed a southern line of defense protecting Damascus.