Syrian troops made fresh gains in the strategic Qalamun area near the Lebanese border Saturday, seizing two villages from rebels, a military source told AFP. "The army took control this morning of the villages of Ras al-Maarra and Flita, after bombing the last groups of armed terrorists there," the source said. President Bashar al-Assad's troops, backed by fighters from Leba**n's Shiite movement Hezbollah, have been waging a crushing battle against rebel positions in Qalamun, **rth of Damascus, since **vember. Since then, they have focused on Flita, Ras al-Maarra and other villages in a bid to seal off the border and stop rebels from bringing in ******* and fighters from Leba**n.