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Army troops capture village in northern Syria

Monday, 01 February 2016 11:27 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 07 February 2016 7:03 AM ]

Syrian troops hold positions in the town of Ain al-Hanash near al-Bab in Aleppo's eastern countryside on January 26, 2016. (© AFP)

Syrian army forces have managed to establish full control over a town in the strategic northern province of Aleppo following fierce clashes with foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants.

On Monday, Syrian soldiers together with fighters from pro-government popular defense groups liberated the village of Duwayr al-Zaytoun, situated more than some 355 kilometers (220 miles) north of the capital, Damascus, after heavy skirmishes, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported.

Syrian government forces also pounded the positions of al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front terrorist and members of Daesh Takfiri militant group on the outskirts of the provincial capital city of Aleppo, though no reports of casualties on the side of the extremists were immediately available.

The development came only a day after Syrian army units restored security to Tal Maksour village in the northeastern part of Aleppo Province.

Syrian government forces walk on a street in the town of Shaykh Maskin in southern Dara'a Province on January 26, 2016 after they retook the strategic town from foreign-backed Takfiri militants. (© AFP)

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syrian forces later combed through the area, and dismantled a number of improvised explosive devices and landmines, which terrorists had earlier planted to slow down army advances.

Elsewhere in the western coastal province of Latakia, Syrian soldiers, backed by popular defense groups, established control over Taomeh village after striking a number of terrorist hideouts.

Scores of militants were killed in the process, and the rest fled to a nearby district.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people and left over one million injured.

The UN says 12.2 million people, including more than 5.6 million children, remain in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria. The violence has also displaced 7.6 million people.

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