Syria's army recaptured Deir Attiyeh on Thursday, state television said, six days after rebel fighters seized the town on the strategic highway between Damascus and the central city of Homs.
"Our heroic army has taken total control of the town of Deir Attiyeh in Damascus province after it crushed the terrorists' last enclaves there," said the broadcaster, citing a military source.
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking security official in Damascus confirmed the report, adding that "operations to expel the terrorists from nearby areas are ongoing."
On Friday last week, hundreds of jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front took control of Deir Attiyeh, according to a monitoring group and the opposition.
Most of the rebel fighters who had taken up positions in Deir Attiyeh were "crushed," the security official said, adding that the town had been "cleansed."
Home to around 10,000 people, Deir Attiyeh is located in the Qalamoun region north of Damascus and along the Lebanese border.
Fighting in Qalamoun has escalated in recent weeks as the Syrian army launched a bid to wrest from the rebels areas under opposition control.
The town is also key because it was being used as a rear base for rebels in key opposition areas in Homs and eastern Damascus province.
