Damascus, July 16 (IANS) Bashar al-Assad, sworn in Wednesday for a new seven-year term as Syrian president, pledged anew his administration's commitment to fighting "terrorism" and warned that regional and Western countries that have backed militants in Syria will pay a steep price. "We will **t stop fighting terrorism and striking it wherever it is until we restore peace to every spot of Syria," Assad said in remarks during his inauguration speech that marked the beginning of his third seven-year term in ******. The Syrian government has long maintained that it has been fighting foreign-backed terrorists set to undermine the administration since the civil war broke out shortly after opposition protesters sought Assad's ouster in March 2011. The president urged rebels to lay down their *******, stressing his administration's unwavering resolve to battle the "terrorism".