Syrian forces carried out a redeployment from the cities of Suwayda and Daraa, creating a strong line of defense in these directions, ministry also noted earlier.
"Our forces operating in the provinces of Hama and Homs are carrying out massive strikes with cannon and rocket artillery on [terrorist] positions and supply routes. Additionally, the Syrian and Russian combat aircraft carried out joint strikes on terrorist concentrations in the northeast of the province of Homs. Ten militants and their equipment were eliminated," the statement read.
"Our forces located in Daraa and Suwayda carried out a redeployment, creating a strong line of defense in these directions after terrorists attacked military checkpoints located in the distance in order to distract our forces, which started to regain control in Homs and Hama provinces," the statement said.
Over the past week, Russia and Syria have eliminated 2,500 terrorists during the anti-terrorist operation in the region, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Saturday.
The terrorist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham*, alongside other armed formations of the so-called Syrian opposition, launched a large-scale operation on November 29, advancing from northern Idlib toward the cities of Aleppo and Hama. By the following day, November 30, the terrorists had seized control of Syria’s second-largest city and its surroundings, including the international airport and the Kuweires military airfield.
Following the capture of Aleppo, the terrorist groups attempted to advance toward the city of Hama, seizing the town of Maarrat al-Nu'man. On December 1, however, the Syrian army command announced that the terrorist advance in Hama had been halted and that government forces had launched a counteroffensive, recapturing several settlements previously taken by the militants.
This marked the first time Aleppo fell completely into the hands of militants since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Until late 2016, the armed opposition controlled only the eastern part of the city but was driven out by the Syrian army with support from the Russian Aerospace Forces.