Syrian army announces 72-hour nationwide ceasefire
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad joined Eid al-Fitr prayers at a mosque in third city Homs on Wednesday in a rare public appearance outside the capital.
Large parts of Homs were once under the control of rebels fighting to overthrow Assad's government, but since May 2014 they have been confined to a single besieged neighbourhood in the city's outskirts.
The al-Safa mosque, where Assad joined worshippers, is in Akrama, a loyalist neighbourhood which has been hit by repeated attacks by the Islamic State group and its rival al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front.
State television broadcast footage of the president in the congregation alongside Islamic Endowments Minister Mohammad Abdel-Sattar Sayyed and Syria's top Muslim cleric Ahmad Badredine Hassoun.
Since the civil war erupted in 2011, Assad has made only rare public appearances and nearly all of those have been in Damascus.
Middle East Eye propose une couverture et une analyse indépendantes et incomparables du Moyen-Orient, de l’Afrique du Nord et d’autres régions du monde. Pour en savoir plus sur la reprise de ce contenu et les frais qui s’appliquent, veuillez remplir ce formulaire [en anglais]. Pour en savoir plus sur MEE, cliquez ici [en anglais].