Syrian Government troops backed by Russian airstrikes recaptured a town in Aleppo province from ISIS militants on Thursday in a key advance just two days ahead of a US and Russia-engineered cease-fire that is to take effect in Syria.
The town of Khanaser was seized earlier this week by the extremist ISIS group, cutting Government military access to the provincial capital, also called Aleppo, said the Syrian Government and the london-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group.
SANA said the army took Khanaser, around 50 kilometers southeast of Aleppo city, after three days of heavy
battles and that heavy
fighting was still underway to reopen the road.
On Tuesday, ISIS seized Khanaser and surrounding hills, severing the Government’s main land route to the city.
In the push on Khanaser, the Syrian Army and pro- Government Shia militias were backed by Russian airstrikes, The Observatory said.