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RT Arabic talked to Syrian soldiers who recently liberated eastern areas of the Hama province from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISUL) terrorists.

A horrifying example of IS’ legacy – a torture cell where extremists kept their prisoners – was exclusively filmed by RT.

“This is one of the prisons which they used for torturing people who didn’t want to follow their ideology,” a Syrian soldier said, pointing at a large cell.

He added that the jihadists had “special places for torturing prisoners, and they have jails for police officers.”

The Syrian Army captured the main terrorist stronghold in the area, which was heavily guarded, another Syrian soldier told RT. Islamic State militants “fought to the death to defend it,” he added.

Hama province, which has been largely freed from terrorist groups, was partly included on the list of de-escalation zones agreed on by guarantor countries Russia, Iran, and Turkey.  

Russia has been providing assistance for the Syrian forces fighting IS since 2015, with the Russian Air Force helping to free swathes of several Syrian provinces from jihadists.

September 30 marked the second anniversary of Russia’s military operation in Syria.

According to the latest data from the Russian Defense ministry, 87 percent of the country has been freed from the control of terrorist groups.