Alwaght- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has asserted that military operations will not stop after liberating Aleppo city from terrorists in a bid to consolidate the army’s victory.
In an interview given to Russia 24 and NTV channels that was broadcast on Wednesday, President al-Assad said that the recent massive attack by ISIS Takfiri terrorists on Palmyra implies that that ISIS received direct support from foreign countries. He noted that the timing of this attack is linked to the battle of Aleppo, because they wanted to undermine the importance of liberating Aleppo and to distract the Syrian Army and fragment its efforts in different directions, asserting that “as we liberated Palmyra in the past, we will liberate it again.”
President Assad underlined that the Syrian Army is liberating territories from terrorists and then consolidating its positions in the liberated regions. He pointed out that security forces are taking precautions against any counterattack by the terrorists from any direction, particularly that they receive support from a number of countries. Assad added that liberating Aleppo doesn’t end with liberating the city itself, for it needs to be secured on the outside.
Meanwhile, Syrian troops have returned the situation in the area of Palmyra to stability with Russian air support and are getting ready for a counter-offensive, the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff’s main operations directorate, Lieutenant-General Viktor Poznikhir told a news briefing on Thursday.
Elsewhere, The Syrian army units thwarted a terrorist attack launched by Jaish al-Fateh” terrorists on military posts in the southwestern countryside of Aleppo province.
Local media reports say the army units clashed with terrorist groups on the direction of the Air Defense Battalion and al-Hikma School roundabout and the 1070 Apartment Project, southwest of Aleppo. Sources say that the clash ended up with foiling the attack, inflicting heavy losses upon the terrorist groups in personnel and equipment while others fled away where their weapons and ammunition were destroyed.
Syrian Army Must Remain Vigilant
The attacks on Palmyra and southwestern countryside of Aleppo province are pointers to renewed efforts by foreign-backed terrorists to continue their attacks inside Syria. An apparently irate Saudi regime’s ambassador to Egypt says his country will continue supporting terrorists fighting against the Damascus government. Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Qattan said on Thursday that Riyadh will continue to back terrorists until the administration of President Assad is ousted.
Therefore, the Syrian army and its allies must remain extra vigilant and closely monitor all movements in the liberated areas while simultaneously pushing on with operations against terrorists close to the liberated regions.
For instance, the Syrian army needs to focus Idleb because there are many Al Nusra Front terrorists on the outskirts of Aleppo and in Idleb. These terrorists are need to be completely neutralized and thus remove any possibility
Palmyra is also a classic case of how foreign-backed terrorists reoccupied the ancient city while Syrian forces were fully focused on the liberation of Aleppo. Terrorists occupied the city entered on Saturday after an offensive lasting a few days, nine months after being ejected out by government forces backed by Russian air force.
In his interview with Russia 24 and NTV channels, President Assad said Syrian troops will retake Palmyra, clearing it of terrorists
"We liberated Palmyra before, we will liberate it once again. This is war, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," the Syrian president noted.
As Syrian troops urge civilians to return to liberated areas there is need to ensure that terrorists do not trickle back disguised as civilians. Therefore, strong intelligence gathering and presence of government troops should be maintained in the liberated areas for a considerable amount of time to completely diminish any possibility of a return of terrorists.
There is also need to review the policy of allowing the evacuation of militants in liberated areas as some if not most of them continue with their nefarious activities wherever they are resettled. On Wednesday morning, the Syrian army was attacked in eastern Aleppo when buses sent to evacuate militants entered the area, violating a previously reached ceasefire agreement, the Russian Reconciliation Center said, adding that the army had repelled the attackers.
