The Bazreh area in eastern Damascus has been fully liberated from militants.
On Monday, the last batch of militants and their supporters left the area and Barzeh was taken under full control by government forces.
With the liberation of Bazreh, government forces made a large step in a wider effort aimed at securing the Damascus countryside from various terrorist threats.
According to some pro-government sources, the area of Jobar controlled mostly by Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS) terrorists, excluded from the ceasefire agreement, could become the next target for the Syrian army.
Meanwhile, the Syrian military has deployed the 4th Armoured Division and its special forces known as al-Ghaith Forces in Daraa aiming to repel the ongoing advance of HTS and its allies and to reverse their gains in the city.
In early May, HTS seized about 40 buildings northeast of the Al-Manshiyya district that had been also captured by militants.
In the province of Aleppo, the Syrian Army Tiger Forces have regained the villages of Hamedaia, Mestariha, Maza, Wasteh, and the nearby areas and advanced on the ISIS-held town of Maskanah from northern and western directions.
Government forces also continued advancing in the Maskanah countryside aiming to link up with army units deployed near Khanasser.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France would launch an immediate strike in response to any use of chemical weapons in Syria. The French president made this statement following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Macron also slammed the Russian state-run media outlets RT and Sputnik, labeling them as a “deceitful propaganda”. Earlier on Monday, Macron and his Russian counterpart met in the Palace of Versailles to discuss bilateral relations.
The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have reached the border with Syria in the western part of the province of Nineveh.
A prominent Iranian general,commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, was spotted among PMU units in the border area. This means that the PMU push to the border had likely been coordinated with Iran and Iranian-backed forces in Syria.
Much will depend upon on how the PMU reacts to the continued tensions between US-led forces and the Syrian military in the border area.
A spokesman of the PMU also announced that the group is ready to fight ISIS in Syria in coordination with the Damascus government.
Voiceover by Harold Hoover
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Featured image: Al Masdar News
