Syrian state TV is reporting that government forces have launched a new operation targeting underground tunnels used by the Islamic State (IS) militant group in the capital, Damascus
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The TV says the aim of the operation is to destroy dug-out trenches and tunnels in the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood and the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk that is also mostly controlled by IS.
A group of journalists taken on Tuesday to the adjacent neighborhood of Qadam witnessed intense shelling and airstrikes on IS positons in the camp and Hajar al-Aswad.
The area in southern Damascus is the last part of the capital not controlled by President Bashar Assad's forces.
Other insurgents in the area, including an al-Qaeda-linked group, have said they would relocate to rebel-held regions in northern Syria.
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