DAMASCUS, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian troops on Tuesday scored a new strategic victory against the rebels in the northern countryside of capital Damascus, as Moscow is witnessing a flurry of diplomatic activities aimed at paving the way for a successful peace conference on the Syrian crisis in Geneva.

The Syrian troops on Tuesday completely recaptured the strategic town of Qara in the northern countryside of Damascus, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

The army recaptured Qara, which is located in the al-Qalamoun Mountains north of Damascus and close to the Lebanese borders, after eliminating the last "terrorist pockets" there, SANA said.

The Syrian troops have started a large-scale offensive against the rebels in the north of Damascus earlier this week to dislodge them from Qara that was vital for the rebels who were wishing to attack the capital from its northern gate.

The recent battles in Qara have resulted in the death of tens of rebels as the army was ready to advance deeper into al- Qalamoun Mountains.

For the government troops, controlling the area is important to secure the road from Damascus to the central province of Homs, and to cut off the rebels' supply line from the Lebanese town of Ersal, which is adjacent to al-Qalamoun Mountains.

The military operation in the northern rim of Damascus came along with a series of operations in the southern and eastern countryside of Damascus as part of the military tactic to dislodge the rebels from key areas of Damascus, Homs and the northern province of Aleppo.

The rebels in Syria are attributing the sweeping victories of Syrian troops to the participation of the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group and another Iraqi Shiite militia alongside the government troops in their fight against the several rebels' factions in Syria.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has recently announced that the group's fighters will continue fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad's forces.

Earlier on Tuesday, twin bombings rocked Lebanon's capital city of Beirut in Hezbollah's stronghold on the southern suburbs near the Iranian embassy in Beirut, leaving at least 23 killed and 146 others injured.