Syria army retakes Damascus areas

Syrian government troops on Friday recaptured all points taken by rebels in a surprise offensive launched late last week in the east of the capital Damascus, state media said. "The army has retaken all the areas infiltrated by the terrorists in the area between the Jobar and Qabun neighbourhoods... after intensive military operations," the official SANA news agency reported.
State television showed a reporter greeting cheering soldiers near Abbasid Square, which had been emptied of its usual traffic at the beginning of the rebel assault on Sunday.
Footage showed burned out cars in the streets and a building with a hole blasted through its side. The surprise attack, which sparked heavy fighting and shelling, was launched from the Jobar neighbourhood, where control is divided between rebels and government forces.