More Gains, No Pains: Syrian Army Takes on Daesh in Northern Aleppo

The Syrian army and the National Defense Forces have reportedly regained control of a spate of strategic areas from Daesh militants near the recently-captured Kuweires military airbase in northern Syria's Aleppo province.

An array of strategic areas located near the recently-captured Kuweires military airbase in northern Syria's Aleppo province has been seized back by the Syrian army jointly with the National Defense Forces, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

In particular, the Syrian troops managed to regain control of Tal Sherba' (hill of Sherba') and Juruf village near the Kuweires military airport in Aleppo's eastern areas on Saturday, sources said.

Supported by Syrian and Russian airstrikes, the Syrian army lifted the three-year siege of the Kuweires military airbase on November 11, in the fighting that left hundreds of Daesh terrorists killed and many more wounded.

After the blockade was removed, the Syrian forces continued to fight to the north, east and west of the airbase, with the main task to create a safe zone around and resume air harbor operations.

On November 24, the Syrian Army Command announced that all settlements around the airport had been liberated and that the militant groups were repelled from the Kuweires airbase.

In early December, military sources said that the Kuweires airbase is ready to stage joint anti-terror operations with the Russian warplanes.

Shortly after, it was reported that the Kuweires airbase resumed arrivals and departures of the Syrian Air Force' helicopters after a three-year siege.

As for Russia's air campaign, it was launched on September 30, when more than fifty Russian warplanes, including the Su-24M, the Su-25 and the Su-34, commenced precision airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On Friday, Russian Defense Ministry officials said that Russian fighter jets had made a total of 5,240 sorties since the start of the air operation against Daesh militants in Syria. The officials added that 145 of those sorties had only been carried out by long-range bombers, and that the Russian warplanes  made 189 sorties on Thursday alone.