DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s army says Monday it is in full control of the capital Damascus and its outskirts after ousting the Islamic State jihadist group, marking a major milestone in the seven-year war.
“The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure,” it says in a statement carried on official media.
The development comes after troops capture a key southern portion of Damascus from IS, the statement says, including the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and the adjacent district of Hajar al-Aswad.
“The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified,” it adds.
The army’s announcement comes hours after a tenuous evacuation deal saw hundreds of IS fighters and their relatives quit Yarmouk, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
— AFP
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