Syrian army kills Algerian militant commander in Homs

The Syrian army killed a notorious foreign ringleader of Jund al-Sham militant group in Homs countryside in Central Syria. Faisla Aqleh, nicknamed Abu Hussein Al-Jazayeri, with Algerian nationality was killed by the army units in Al-Hosn region in Homs near the Lebanese border. Aqleh had reportedly fled from the Romia Prison in Lebanon to carry out a terrorist operation codenamed Al-Hosn Castle in Homs. On Sunday, Homs Governor Talal Barazi said that the militants in Syria are forcing residents to stay in the city as the government is trying to evacuate the people who have been suffering from the occupation of the strategic area by foreign-backed militants. “The evacuation of civilians was not carried out yesterday (Saturday) because some of the armed groups prevented the citizens inside from moving to the transit point to leave,” Barazi said in a statement. The Syrian government has been helping the United Nations and Syria's Red Crescent to evacuate trapped civilians and deliver aid inside besieged parts of Homs since February 7. The work was made possible by a deal that included a ceasefire which was extended twice, but expired on Saturday. Syria militants have since stopped people from leaving. The UN and the Red Crescent were able to evacuate some 1,400 of the 3,000 people who had been trapped in Homs for more than 18 months.