Special to WorldTribune.com

Syrian forces are advancing rapidly against both anti-Assad rebels and Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) positions with support from Iranian officers, Hizbullah fighters and Russian warplanes, reports say.

On Dec. 29, government forces and their allies captured a key southern military base from Brigade 82 rebels in the town of Sheikh al-Maskeen, an area in Daraa province that is 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Damascus.

“It’s a very important gain for the regime forces. They’ve now cut the road between Daraa and Damascus,” said Rami Abdur Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rahman said the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad began in Daraa with “mostly peaceful protests but escalated into a civil war following a harsh crackdown on dissent.”

The Syrian assault on rebel forces included the killing of 17 fighters from Islamic rebel factions who had gathered at farmhouses in Daraa province on Dec. 26. Syrian forces also killed a powerful rebel leader on the outskirts of Damascus on Dec. 25, the Observatory said.

Government forces have also made key gains against ISIL in the Maheen area to the southeast of the central city of Homs, taking several towns and positions around the city, according to the Observatory and Syrian’s SANA news agency. Once called the “capital of the revolution,” Homs is now under almost complete government control.

SANA reported that Syrian troops had full control of Maheen town and the nearby mountains, as well as the villages of Al-Hadath and Hawareen.

Syria’s army managed to “wipe out” the last group of ISIL fighters in the area and are now “pursuing their remnants toward al-Qaryatain city,” SANA said.

  Daara province, Damascus, Homs, ISIL positions with backing from Iran, Russia, Syrian forces advance against rebel, WorldTribune.com