Damascus, Nov 13 (IANS): Syrian troops Wednesday recaptured the town of Hajjira in the countryside of the capital Damascus after dislodging rebels from the area, Xinhua reported citing state-run SANA news agency.
Some other media reports said that hundreds of rebel fighters fled Hajjira following the Syrian troops' recapture of the town.
The Syrian troops' recent progress came as part of their large-scale operation to wrest back control of some rebel-held areas in the countryside of Damascus.
Earlier this week, the army recaptured another key town east of Damascus, tightening its siege against the rebels in the Yarmouk camp and Hajar al-Aswad.
The Syrian troops' actions show that they are determined to regain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiation in the Geneva II conference on Syria.