Syrian army shows confiscated weapons from Daraa province

DAMASCUS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Army on Thursday showcased various weaponry found in formerly rebel-held areas in the southern province of Daraa.

Retaken late last year, the Syrian Army is still discovering weapons stashed by the rebels in Daraa ahead of their surrender and evacuation to rebel-held areas in the northwestern countryside of Idlib.

During a Xinhua trip to the base where the weapons were laid on the ground, a military officer told Xinhua and other reporters that the new discovery includes heavy and medium weapons.

"A large amount of heavy and medium weapons were found hidden in underground stores by the terrorist groups ahead of their evacuation to northern Syria," the officer said, asked not to be named.

He said the big amounts of weapons is a sign of the big support rendered to the rebels by foreign powers.

"The presence of such a large amount of weapons is an indicator of how big the foreign support to the terrorist groups by the countries that support terrorism," he said.

The shown weapons include missiles, rockets, mortar shells, various ammunitions put in wooden boxes.

The officer said the weapons include some U.S. and Israeli-made munition.

The Syrian Army has found several batches of weapons in Daraa and elsewhere across the country following the defeat of the rebels and their withdrawal to Idlib province.

Daraa province in southern Syria holds a big significance as it was the birthplace of the eight-year-long war in Syria.