News / Syria

Syrian army forces recapture several areas in southern Aleppo

Thursday, 11 August 2016 9:43 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 11 August 2016 4:17 PM ]

Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jasem al-Freij (C) walks among other officers during a visit to Aleppo on August 9, 2016. ©SANA

Syrian army soldiers and allied popular defense groups have gained more grounds in Aleppo as they are trying to flush Daesh terrorists and other foreign-sponsored militants out of the strategic city.

A military source told the official SANA news agency on Thursday that Syrian forces had established full control over five blocks in the 1070 Apartment Project area of the city.

Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters, the source said, also thwarted a major militant onslaught on southern Aleppo last night, killing or injuring scores of extremists.

A number of cars rigged with explosives and pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns were also destroyed in the process.

Russian and Syrian fighter jets on Wednesday bombed four command centers of the terrorists in southern Aleppo, killing dozens of them and destroying their vehicles.

The United Nations has warned that two million people could be trapped in Aleppo as government forces and foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants are gearing up for a decisive battle in the city.

Last week, the head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said some 2,000 fighters have joined the ranks of government troops in Aleppo.

According to the pro-government Arabic-language al-Watan daily, the Syrian army has also received “the necessary military reinforcements to launch the battle,” saying “a crucial attack on the terrorists was imminent and inevitable.”

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Back in 2014, the UN said it would no more update its official death toll for Syria because it could not verify the figures that it received from various sources.

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