Militants Must Be "Cleaned Out" Of Idlib Province In Syria - Iranian Foreign Minister

Iran -- Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends Iranian President's press conference, in Tehran, January 17, 2017

Sept 3 (Reuters)

Militants must be "cleaned out" of Idlib province in northwestern Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday at the start of a visit to Damascus, according to Fars News. Iranian forces have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war.

"All of Syrian territory must be preserved and all the sects and groups should start the round of reconstruction as one collective and the displaced should return to their families," Zarif said, according to Fars. "And the remaining terrorists in the remaining parts of Idlib must be cleaned out and the region should be placed back under the control of the Syrian people."

(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh Editing by Gareth Jones)