Syrian troops thwart rebel attempts to storm hospital

The Syrian troops on Wednesday thwarted an attempt by the rebels to storm a hospital in the northern countryside of Damascus, the state-TV reported. Rebel groups staged a blast at one of the military checkpoints at the entrance of Deir Attieh town in northern Damascus in the early morning and drove a car occupied by four armed men wearing explosive belts who tried to storm the al-Bassel hospital in the area, the TV said. Citing its reporter, who was trapped inside the hospital along with other TV crew members, the TV said the army carried out a sweeping operation and eliminated the armed groups before storming the hospital. The TV staffers were also fine and sound. Deir Attieh is located close to the town of Qara, which was overrun by the army a day earlier. The rebels in Qara, located in the al-Qalamoun Mountains, have retreated to nearby areas and their attempt to storm Deir Attieh was expected. The Syrian army has unleashed a wide-scale operation in the northern al-Qalamoun Mountains north of Damascus and east of the Lebanese borders. The operation aims to dislodge the rebels from the northern gate of Damascus and cut off their supply lines from neighboring Lebanon. The military offensive has prompted the rebels to retaliate and maintain some ground in the key area amid reports that intense fighting is flaring up as the army keeps pressing further into rebel strongholds.