AMMAN: The Syrian army has taken control of a strategic hill that overlooks the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, state television said on Monday.
It said the army had taken control of Al Haara hill on the second day of an offensive to seize remaining parts of southwest Syria that are in rebel hands and are close to the border with Israel.
The hilltop, which had a major anti-aircraft radar base that was part of elaborate Syrian army defences against Israel, fell into rebel hands in October 2014.
It has been heavily bombed by Russian and Syrian army raids in the last two days as the army moved closer to the Israeli border after gaining control of most of Daraa province to the east, according to rebels and a war monitor.
Israel signalled it would not impede the Syrian army offensive, even as it struck Syrian army posts near the frontier and elsewhere where it suspects foreign forces are stationed.
Meanwhile, Syrian forces backed by Russia made sweeping advances on Monday against rebels holding out in the country’s south, a monitor and state media said.
Syria’s government has been battling to oust rebels from the strategic southwestern provinces of Daraa and Quneitra since June 19, with a mix of heavy bombardment, ground attacks and negotiated surrenders.
Russian-backed Syrian troops now hold more than 80 per cent of Daraa province but scored fresh gains on Monday against remaining opposition forces in its western countryside and in neighbouring Quneitra.
Quneitra also borders the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel, which has been on high alert since hostilities ramped up in the south nearly a month ago.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that Syrian units and allied fighters had made a “quick advance” against rebels in the western part of Daraa.
“Syrian forces captured the town of Al Hara, as well as Samlin, Al Tiha and Zimrin,” said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.
He said Syrian forces had ousted rebels from Al Tiha in a military advance, while opposition forces in Al Hara had agreed a surrender deal.
Fighters in a nearby town, Nawa, were in talks for a similar agreement, he added.
Under such agreements, opposition forces hand over territory as well as their heavy and medium weapons to government troops in exchange for a halt to bombing.
But militants holding a hilltop adjacent to Al Hara refused to agree to a handover, said the Observatory.
The Syrian forces and Russia responded by heavily bombing the hilltop, killing 30 fighters from Al Qaeda’s former Syria affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS).
Syrian forces briefly overran the hilltop on Monday but an HTS ambush left 12 forces dead and forced them to retreat, Abdel Rahman said.
Citing a military source, Syrian state news agency Sana also said the army had captured a string of villages including Al Tiha and Zimrin.
Russian and Syrian air strikes also pounded Quneitra province for a second day on Monday, the Observatory said. — Agencies
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