Syrian government soldiers, backed by fighters from allied popular defense groups, have managed to wrest control over six villages in the country’s western coastal province of Latakia following heavy clashes with foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants.
On Friday, the Syrian forces regained control of the villages of Ayn Qantarah, Tal Rasha, Tal al-Awizrat, Dhaher Abu As’ad, Nahshaba and Ruwaisah Kataf, which lie on the northern outskirts of the provincial capital city of Latakia and are nearly 350 kilometers (217 miles) northwest of the capital Damascus, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported.
The report added that scores of Takfiri terrorists were killed and considerable amounts of munitions belonging to them were destroyed during the fierce battles.
Elsewhere in the southern Ramouseh neighborhood of Aleppo, located some 355 kilometers (220 miles) north of Damascus, government troopers and their allies secured a road into the government-held side of the strategic city.
A reporter for the privately-owned al-Ikhbariya Syria television news network said the road would be secure for civilian use within the next few hours.
The development came a day after Syrian soldiers marched into Ramouseh district, and advanced towards other militant-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo.
Ramouseh slipped into the hands of Takfiri militants in early August, enabling them to open a route via the area into other militant-held districts.
The recapture on Thursday further deprived Takfiris of the positions, which they were using to launch attacks on government-held districts west of Aleppo.
Aleppo has been divided since 2012 between government forces in the west and the Takfiri terrorists in the east. The Syrian forces have been engaged in a major operation to liberate the militant-held areas of the city as well as the province with the same name.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. United Nations 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 death toll for Syria because it could not verify the figures that it received from various sources.
