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Syria retakes new posts in Aleppo countryside

Wednesday, 09 December 2015 2:15 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 09 December 2015 3:23 PM ]

Syrian army soldiers patrol a former bastion of Daesh Takfiri terrorists, near the northwestern city of Aleppo, December 2, 2015. (AFP photo)

The Syrian army and the allied fighters of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah have made fresh gains against militants in the northern province of Aleppo, as the battle continues to purge the strategic area from elements of the Daesh Takfiri group and other terrorists.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said on Wednesday that the allied forces managed to push back Daesh militants from their positions in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, liberating the rural town of Shuvailakh, north of Humaimah.

The report said the liberation of the town came after some fierce clashes between the pro-government forces and militants, which saw dozens of the militants killed and injured.

The advance in the east of Aleppo comes just one day after Syrian forces managed to edge closer on militants in the southern countryside of the province, liberating major parts of the key town of Zeytan from Daesh.

Aleppo has been a major battleground for Syria’s fight against an array of militant groups, including Daesh and the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front. The government forces have managed to gain more ground since Russia launched airstrikes on Daesh positions on September 30, based on a request by the Syrian government.

Meanwhile, Syria’s official SANA agency said on Wednesday that at least four people were killed and nearly two dozen others injured after militants shelled residential areas in Aleppo.

Estimates show that thousands of civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands more have been forced out of Aleppo and surrounding areas as a result of indiscriminate mortar and bombing campaigns over the past few years.

In Latakia, fresh gains made

The Syrian army and allied forces also made fresh gains against militants in the northwest of the country, with reports saying that they managed to recapture two villages of Attirah and Sirital in Latakia Province.

A report by SANA said the Syrian army units, in cooperation with the popular defense groups, established control over Brendi and al-Rabia mountains in the northern countryside of Latakia.

Reports say militants have frequently used the northern territories of Latakia for transferring weapons and forces from Turkey into Syria and control over the area would be a significant blow to the militants operating in the mountainous region.

The crisis in Syria, which began in March 2011, has so far claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s population within or beyond its borders.

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