Damascus, April 16 (RHC)-- Syrian Army troops continue to gain ground in their fight against foreign-backed armed groups, and have taken full control of a town in northeast of the capital Damascus. On Tuesday, Syrian soldiers carried out an operation and liberated Assal al-Ward in the mountainous al-Qalamoun region.

A number of militants were killed during intense clashes with Syrian government forces, while the rest fled to nearby regions. The development comes a day after Syrian army units killed many terrorists and destroyed their hideouts in the towns of al-Sarkha, Bakha’a and al-Jibbeh in Qalamoun region.

The mercenaries who were not killed escaped out to Housh Arab suburbs of the capital or to the Lebanese border and the army continues to chase them down.

Army units also recaptured the historic town of Ma’loula, located about 60 kilometers northeast of Damascus. Also on Tuesday, Syrian troops engaged militants in Jouret al-Shayah, al-Hamidiyah, Bab Hood and Wadi al-Sayeh neighborhoods of the western province of Homs.

Syrian troops also destroyed several pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns in the al-Houla area. In addition, Syrian troops stormed terrorist hideouts near al-Nasr Mountain in the northern countryside of Lattakia, leaving scores of foreign-backed terrorists dead and injured.