DAMASCUS -- The Syrian troops on Wednesday killed 17 armed rebels in the southern province of Daraa, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

The army eliminated "terrorists" in the town of Jisa in the eastern outskirts of Daraa, said SANA, adding that the army also destroyed the rebels' weaponries and ammunition during the clashes.

Also in Daraa, the military forces thwarted rebels' attack against a military outpost in the rural Rajm al-Mashour area.

Meanwhile, SANA said army units foiled some terrorists' infiltration from Lebanon into the border town of Talkalakh in the central province of Homs through al-Bqaiya'a site, killing and injuring scores of them.

The Syrian troops have been fighting what they call "terrorists " for almost three years. The international community is preparing for the holding of the Geneva II peace conference designed to bring the government and the opposition together to strike a political solution to their protracted impasse.