The Syrian government announced that the last extremist stronghold in southern Damascus, the al-Hajar al-Aswad District, has been recaptured – marking the complete control by Assad’s forces over Damascus and all of its suburbs after seven years of fighting.
Syrian army Colonel Ahmad Ezzeldin said in a statement that “in the last period (of the operation), the Syrian military surrounded the local extremists, and they encirclement became very small as the forces closed in. The combat with the extremists became very short-ranged, and the forces of Damascus eventually neutralized them.”
A Syrian official told TV7 that the recapture of al-Hajar al-Aswad District marks the complete liberation of Damascus since 2011 from Islamic State militants. The government forces will continue to sweep houses and tunnels for hidden suicide attackers and snipers next.