Syrian army vows to wipe out rebels near airbase in Swaida

The Syrian army is determined to eliminate the armed militants, who have been trying recently to storm a military airbase in Syria's southern province of Swaida, a military officer told Xinhua on Sunday.

The officer, who asked not to be named, said the June 10 attack by the rebels on the Thaaleh airbase in the countryside of predominantly Druze province of Swaida was thwarted quickly by the Syrian army forces, who were aware of the attack by observing the movement of the rebels in the nearby towns in the adjacent northeastern countryside of Daraa province.

On June 10, and just a day after capturing a major military base in Daraa, several jihadist groups announced the commencement of a new battle to capture the Thaaleh airbase in the town of Thaaleh, just 10 kilometers west of Swaida.

After the capture of the Brigade 52 in Daraa, the Thaaleh airbase and its town have become exposed to the rebels, who showed resolve to capture that facility.

The officer said the militants are currently located in three Daraa towns near Thaaleh, namely the towns of Um Walad, al-Karak and Harak, which were captured by the rebels earlier this month.

"Al-Karak is seven or eight kilometers from Thaaleh. Um Walad is three or four kilometers while Harak is nine kilometers from Thaaleh," he stated.

"We have a plan to clean those areas from the terrorists as part of our bigger plan of fighting terrorism. We are also working to clear the towns near the Thaaleh airbase from the terrorists," he stressed.

The officer said that many of the Thaaleh residents offered to help the Syrian army in defending the airbase and their town against the extremist militants attack.

Meanwhile, the officer stressed that the Syrian army will defend Swaida, as it's the case in any other Syrian province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said Friday the rebel attack against Thaaleh was repelled by the Syrian airstrikes and the help of the Druze fighters.

The Druze minority, along with other minority groups in Syria, has emerged as supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, fearing the expansion of radical jihadist groups that showed no tolerance of minority groups in Syria.

Earlier on Sunday, the Syrian official SANA news agency said the Syrian army killed 25 militants near Thaaleh airbase.

Still, the residents of the town has been on alert as the threats of the militants have inched closer to the western countryside of Swaida, a province that has remained clam throughout the long-running Syrian conflict. Endit