Senior diplomat: US, Israeli war rhetoric part of psycho war against Syria

Syrian Ambassador to Tehran Adnan Mahmoud downplayed the US and Israel's war rhetoric against his country, and said such threats are merely part of Washington and Tel Aviv's psychological war against Syria. "After two and a half years of resistance and Syria's stability in the resistance front, all attempts for direct military intervention have failed," Mansour said told FNA on Saturday. "All these threats are part of the psychological war against Syria and in support of the terrorist groups to whom the army is hitting heavy blows at present," he added. The Syrian army has raided terrorists’ strongholds in different parts of the country and hundreds of terrorists have been killed during heavy clashes with the army forces in recent months. Meantime, as the Syrian army is making daily advances in the war on rebel and terrorist groups in various parts of the country, an increasing number of rebels have started laying down their arms and surrendering to the government forces. The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when sporadic pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states. The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.