Syrian army makes major advances in Idlib countryside

The Syrian army made major advances into Idlib countryside and killed tens of militants in heavy clashes. The army units continued their mop-up operations in Jasr Al-Sahghour in Idlib countryside in Northwestern Syria, killing tens of terrorists. Also in the past 24 hours, the gathering centers of the militants were destroyed in the Syrian army’s artillery operations in Southern Syria. The army’s artillery pounded the Basri Al-Sham and Basr al-Harir towns in Southern Syria and destroyed a number of gathering centers of militants there. Meantime, the Syrian army conducted massive military operations in Aleppo city in Northern Syria. The army targeted the gathering centers of terrorists in Al-Meysar, Al-Marjeh, Al-Jazmati and Al-Masaranieh regions in Aleppo province. Elsewhere, a Saudi-backed militant was killed in an indistinguishable manner in Damascus countryside in Southern Syria. Iman Al-Naqshbandi, commander of Jafar Tayyar militant group was killed in an unclear way in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside. Jafar Tayyar is one of the militant groups forming up the Islamic Front which is completely supported by Saudi Arabia. Also on Tuesday, the US spy agency, the CIA, rebuked General John Wright, the operation and cooperation commander for the proxy war in Syria, for his failure in provoking the anti-Assad forces to intensify their attacks against the governmental forces, sources said. "Brigadier General John Wright was reprehended by the CIA and was summoned to Washington on January 20 on a military plane," an informed source told FNA on condition of anonymity due to the secrecy of the issue. The 57-year-old veteran US General who has fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya wars had set up his office in Amman as a first step and started coordination with Saudi Arabia but couldn’t persuade Riyadh to remain committed to its undertakings to provide financial and logistic aids to the armed forces in Syria, the source said. “After rebuking Wright, the CIA gave a three-month-long deadline to him to make his best efforts to fulfill his missions,” the source added. Also, two civilians were injured on Tuesday in the terrorists' mortar attack on the residential al-Amaraa neighborhood in the city of Damascus. A Police Command said that a mortar shell landed on a house in Faisal King Street in al-Amaraa neighborhood, wounding a young man and a young woman and causing great material damage to the house. Meantime, the Syrian opposition’s delegation will attend the second round of negotiations in Geneva, the leader of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmad Jarba, said. The National Coalition's delegation has agreed to take part in the Geneva-2 conference in order to implement the Geneva communique, adopted in July 2012, Jarba said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday, Voice of Russia reported. The coalition's delegation came to the conference sincerely wishing to move forward toward a political settlement, he said. The delegation announced its intention to attend the second round of talks that will take place on February 10, Jarba said. Also, a senior intelligence official said some 130 Canadians are working abroad in support of extremist activities, including about 30 in Syria alone. Michel Coulombe, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told a Senate committee the individuals' activities include paramilitary operations, training in weapons and explosives, logistical support, terrorist fundraising and studying in extremist schools. Two cases of young Canadian men who died in hostilities in Syria recently grabbed headlines. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs and terrorists against both the army and civilians. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.