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Syria fighters ready for operation to liberate Aleppo

Saturday, 16 January 2016 9:25 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 16 January 2016 6:40 PM ]

Syrian forces hold a position near the village of Al-Najjarah, east of Aleppo, Jan. 7, 2016. (AFP photo)

The Syrian army is preparing for its biggest operation since the beginning of the conflict to recapture the country's second city of Aleppo.

Aleppo, formerly Syria's commercial hub, is now divided between government control in the west and militant control in the east.

Daesh and al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, are based in the areas ruled by foreign-backed terrorists.

By recapturing Aleppo, the Syrian army plans to broaden its security zone around the city and and prevent terrorists from receiving supplies and reinforcements from the suburbs.

“This will be the biggest military operation in Syria since the beginning of the war,” the French news agency AFP quoted one Syrian army commander as saying.

He said the army is battling on seven fronts around the city to choke up militant supply lines and surround them on the eastern part of the city.

Syria's armed forces are slowly advancing south and southeast of the city.

The army's advances in several fronts across the country have gained momentum in recent weeks.

On Friday, the official SANA news agency said government forces had liberated three villages on the city’s eastern suburbs following heavy clashes with Takfiri Daesh terrorists.

The recent operations are part of a push by the Syrian forces to clear the broader province of Aleppo of terrorists.

Syrian forces hold a position in Ain al-Beida in the eastern part of Aleppo Province on January 13, 2016. (AFP photo)

On Thursday, the combined forces established control over the Kurdish-majority town of Tell Aran, which lies in the province’s al-Safira district.

The conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the United Nations.

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