News - Middle East: Russia says the major US-led Western powers continue their hostile practices towards Syria by backing anti-Damascus militants and Takfiri terrorist groups across the Arab country. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in remarks on Thursday in Moscow blamed the United States, Britain and some other Western countries for spreading chaos through terrorist groups across Syria. 

The support by the Western regimes for terrorist groups operating across Syria was no secret anymore and has fully been exposed, she said. 

“Attempts to target the Syrian state, its sovereignty and independence have been ongoing for years by regimes hostile to international peace and security in general, and they have chosen Syria and are still clinging to it as a target for their ongoing and continuous aggression,” Zakharova was quoted as saying. 

She also reiterated that Russia’s supportive stance towards Syria and its people has been the basis for ensuring security and stability in the West Asia region. 

The remarks come after  Syrian and Russian jets bombed militant hideouts to push back foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists and anti-Damascus militants in the northwestern region. 

The Syrian army said it was cooperating with Russia and "friendly forces" to regain ground and restore the situation to what it was.

Syrian troops, it said, inflicted heavy losses in a series of operations against the Takfiri militants operating across the region. 

Local media reports said on Thursday that members of the Hayat al-Tahir al-Sham terror group (HTS) and their allied forces launched attacks targeting several areas in Aleppo and Idlib for the second day in a row.

There are reports that at least 60 terrorists have been killed in the clashes. The  Syrian army also confirmed inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists. The clashes have also left some 40 members of the Syrian forces killed.  

The source said the terrorist outfit used rocket launchers and mortars to pave the way for advancing towards the Syrian army points in Qabtan al-Jabal, Bala and Sheikh Aqil in the west of Aleppo.

The HTS and allied militants have long been targeted by the Syrian government and Russian forces. The HTS, formerly known as the Nusra Front, is considered a terrorist organization by Syria, Russia, and several other countries.

Elsewhere in her remarks, she further said the illegal military presence of US forces in Syria has been an excuse to back criminal militants and steal precious resources of the Arab nation.

Since 2014, the US has deployed forces and military equipment in Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate under the pretext of fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

The American forces have thus far sustained their illegal presence on the Syrian soil although Damascus and its allies defeated Daesh in late 2019.

The US military claims its presence in Syria is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh.

Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country’s natural resources. US President-elect Donald Trump of the United States earlier admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since 2011 with Damascus blaming the Western countries and their regional allies for aiding the terrorist groups.

Russia, alongside Iran, has assisted Syrian forces in battles across the conflict-plagued country, mainly by providing aerial support to ground operations against foreign-backed terrorists.

 Source: Press TV