Syrian army downs drones amid explosions over Damascus

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the Syrian army reported the downing of two drones in the skies over the capital, Damascus, amid reports of explosions around the city.

Syrian state television stated that “air defenses intercepted attacking drones over Damascus, shooting down two of them without causing any casualties,” the official news agency SANA also confirmed the incident, quoting a military source saying, "Our air defense systems intercepted hostile unmanned aircraft over Damascus and downed two drones without human or material losses."

Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an opposition organization, reported hearing explosions around the Syrian capital but provided no further details.

This development coincides with an announcement by armed opposition factions ( Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-HTS, the National Front for Liberation-NFL, and the Syrian National Army-SNA), on Thursday that they had taken control of the city of Hama, just days after seizing Aleppo in a surprise offensive, further weakening President Bashar al-Assad's hold on power.

SOHR reported that opposition factions entered Hama after a night of intense clashes "from several directions, engaging in street battles with regime forces in various neighborhoods." The capture of Hama, according to SOHR Director Rami Abdulrahman, "poses a threat to the regime's support base," given the concentration of the Alawite minority, from which al-Assad hails, in its western countryside.

The fall of Hama to the opposition occurred despite heavy bombing by Russian and Syrian air forces, according to official media reports on Wednesday night.