Syrian military clears Damascus of ISIS militants

Damascus, May 21: Syria’s Army on Monday was in complete control of the capital and its outskirts for the first time since 2012, after ousting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group from a last pocket of resistance.

It marked a major milestone in the protracted war, which began in 2011 and saw parts of Damascus fall to armed rebels the following year.

But in recent months, President Bashar alAssad has used a blend of military pressure and negotiated withdrawals to steadily flush rebels out of territory around Damascus.

A small ISIS holdout remained in the capital’s south. Troops and allied Palestinian militia launched an offensive last month to recapture the area covering the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk and adjacent districts of Qadam, Tadamun and Hajar alAswad.

On Monday, the Army declared it had ousted IS IS from that zone, sealing its control of the capital.

“The Syrian Army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure,” it said in a statement carried

It marks a major milestone in the protracted war, which began in 2011 and saw parts of Damascus fall to armed rebels the following year

Weeks of fierce combat subsided at the weekend when a ceasefire allowed for group withdrawals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

on official media.

“The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified.”

Weeks of fierce combat subsided at the weekend when a ceasefire allowed for group withdrawals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The evacuations are over, after 32 buses took 1,600 people including IS fighters and their relatives out of southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.