Syrian troops 'fully purge' district in Aleppo

DAMASCUS - Syria's state media said the Syrian troops have fully "purged" the Midan district in the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday from armed militias.

SANA news agency said the army eliminated all the insurgents in Midan, adding that scores of other armed men were killed in a qualitative operation by the army at the Fardous district.

Also in Aleppo, the army troops have killed many "terrorists" and confiscated satellite phones while raiding a hideout of armed insurgents at al-Arqoub district in the crucial northern city.

Meanwhile, SANA said the government troops have tracked down armed groups at al-Joura, Asali and al-Qadam neighborhoods in the capital Damascus, killing and injuring scores of them, while pro- government Sham FM that more than 100 armed insurgents were killed in those areas.

The state agency also said many armed men had been killed in similar army operations at al-Rastan in the countryside of Homs province in central Syria.

Separately, eight civilians were killed Sunday and 25 others injured when an explosive device struck a street in Syria's southern Daraa province, SANA said.

The blast damaged nine cars and two buses, said SANA, adding that the injured were rushed to the hospitals.

The blast is the latest in a series of other explosions that have become increasingly common in Syria's 18 months crisis.

On the opposition side, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other activists' groups said clashes between government troops and armed rebels took place in a number of areas nationwide, most notably in the Damascus suburbs and Aleppo province.

It said the rebellious Damascus' suburbs of Mu'adamiya, Yabrud, Zabadani and Douma were bombarded by regime forces, adding that regime forces went on a series of raids and perpetrated random detentions at the town of Hfeir near Damascus.

The Observatory also said that more than 10 civilians were killed by the regime's bombardment on the village of Kafru'eid in the northwestern province of Idlib.

It said a total of 60 people have been killed so far Sunday, 50 of whom were unarmed civilians. The activists' account couldn't be checked independently.

The recent incidents came as the new UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi left Syria on Sunday afternoon after a three-day visit, during which he met with Syrian President among other Syrian officials and opposition parties and figures.

Brahimi has recently said that he will craft a plan after meeting with all concerned parties and countries.

He said he is hopeful that he will help the Syrian people " however difficult" to get out of the prolonged, intractable crisis.