Categories: Hard NewsMiddle East

Syrian Army Close to Breaking Siege of Aleppo Northern Villages

The Syrian military forces made further advances in their fightback against terrorist groups in northern Syria with an operation to break a long-running siege by Takfiri militants on the villages of al-Zahraa and Nubl, northwest of Aleppo.

The Syria troops continue to close in on the militants in Aleppo, and are now less than 3 kilometers away from the two predominantly Shiite villages, Al Mayadeen TV channel reported.

Al-Zahraa and Nubl have been under siege by terrorist groups since July 2012. But their residents have been vigorously resisting to the invaders.

The United Nations had announced earlier that the terrorist groups surrounding the villages had cut electrical and water lines supplying 45,000 residents. The Syrian Army has used helicopters to drop supplies to the villagers.

Al-Zahraa and Nubl are located along a highway that leads to Turkey. The terrorist groups sought to control the villages to open up a new supply line into Aleppo.

Syria has been entangled in civil war since March 2011, with Takfiri terrorist groups like Daesh controlling parts of it, mostly in the east.

In the past five years, more than 250,000 people have died in Syria -overwhelmingly civilians- and around 4 million Syrians are now refugees in other countries. Around 8 million others have been displaced internally.

Emad Askarieh

Emad Askarieh has worked as a journalist since 2002. The main focus of his work is foreign policy and world diplomacy. He started his career at Iran Front Page Media Group, and is currently serving as the World Editor and the Vice-President for Executive Affairs at the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website.