Syrian army captures suburb south of Damascus

Syrian army captures suburb south of Damascus

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops captured a contested suburb of Damascus today as the government forged ahead with a punishing military offensive that already has taken four other opposition strongholds south of the capital, state media said. For more than a year, much of the belt of neighborhoods and towns just south of Damascus has been a rebel bastion and a key arms conduit for the opposition. But government forces – bolstered by fighters from Lebanon’s Shiite militant Hezbollah group and Shiite militants from Iraq – have made significant headway in recent weeks in the area as President Bashar Assad pushes to shore up his hold on the capital and its doorstep.