BEIRUT — Syrian government forces have captured new areas south of Damascus near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, increasing pressure on opposition forces.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media reported that Syrian troops and their allies on Monday captured three new areas from Al Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee. It added that troops are now about 500 yards from the shrine of Sheikh Abdullah, sacred to Syria’s Druze community.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighters are now besieged in the village of Beit Jin and nearby areas after an intense 10-day offensive. It added that negotiations are underway to evacuate insurgents to the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib.

Israel has been concerned about the push by Syrian troops and their Iran-backed allies close to its border.

US drones and surveillance jets are trying to root out about 3,000 remaining Islamic State fighters hiding hear the Euphrates River in Syria.

A three-year campaign by a US-led coalition has largely achieved its goal of reclaiming territory in Syria and Iraq seized by the Islamic State. But officials say the group remains a dangerous terrorist force in Iraq and Syria.

In a separate development, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said his government is working with Russia to evacuate some 500 people from a besieged, rebel-held Damascus suburb.

Erdogan said Sunday that some 500 people in eastern Ghouta, including some 170 women and children, are in urgent need of humanitarian or medical assistance.

ASSOCIATED PRESS