Syrian troops recapture military base from rebels near Damascus

The Syrian troops recaptured a military position from the armed militants on Saturday in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus, the pan-Arab al- Mayadeen TV reported.
The troops wrested back control over the Electronic Brigade, in northwest of the Htaitet al-Jarash town, in east of Damascus, the report said, adding that the recapture of the site came as part of the Syrian troops' ongoing battle to recapture towns and areas in the eastern outskirts of Damascus.
On Friday, the troops fully recaptured Htaitet al-Jarash amid reports that the Syrian army is now pressing forward toward the town of Ein Tarma.
Ein Tarma is posing a threat to the capital due to its proximity to the Damascus' eastern district of Kabbas, which witnessed an infiltration attempt by the rebels on Friday, when the armed militants sneaked into the neighborhood, clashing with the Syrian troops and imprisoning civilians in their own homes.
The pro-government Sham FM radio said the Syrian troops called for reinforcements to dislodge the rebels out of Kabbas and push them back into Ein Tarma.
The ongoing battles also go in tandem with an ongoing wide- scale offensive the Syrian troops have recently unleashed to route the rebels out of the Damascus' eastern suburb of Jobar, a key rebel stronghold that also poses a threat to the security of the capital.
On the opposition side, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 13 people were killed and many more wounded on Saturday when the Syrian air force carried out airstrikes against the rebel-held northern province of al-Raqqa.
It said the Islamic State (IS) militants, which are in full control over al-Raqqa, periodically change their positions to avoid such strikes.
Over 191,000 people were reportedly killed in Syria between March 2011 and the end of April 2014, according to an updated UN study released last month.