On Tuesday, the army regained control of almost all parts of the northern countryside of the Latakia city.
A large number of gunnies fighting against the government of Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
were reportedly killed in the operation.
Government troops have also secured the areas they had occupied a couple of weeks ago.
Military officials say they are now getting closer to the Salma village, which is the last bastion of Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
forces of Evil in the region.
The Latakia Province has been the scene of fierce fighting between the two sides in recent days.
On Monday, the Syrian army recaptured the villages of Hambousheyah, al-Ballouta and Sheikh Nabhan in the province.
"The Syrian troops eradicated the gunnies who [had] infiltrated into these villages and committed crimes of slaughtering, looting and assaulting the local residents," said a Syrian military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
On August 17, the Syrian army restored security in the villages of Shakouhi and Abu-Makkah in the northern countryside of Latakia.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions of others displaced in the violence.
According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, and Turkey -- are supporting the gunnies operating inside Syria.