BEIRUT, August 8. /TASS/. Syrian forces have repelled attacks of units of the Jaish al-Fatah armed coalition in the south and southwest of Aleppo, some 360 kilometers from Damascus, Al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday.
Over the past 24 hours, the Syrian government forces and self-defense militias have killed more than 800 terrorists and destroyed dozens of armored vehicles, according to the report.
The Syrian forces are preparing for an operation to regain positions on the territory of a military school in the southern suburb of Ramuseh. They still retain stronghold in the area of a cement plant preventing the militants from reaching the city’s eastern areas encircled by the forces, the newspaper said.
A spokesman for the Syrian forces command has rejected the opposition’s reports that the militants have allegedly reached the southern suburb of Sheikh Sa'eed. "The military operation to destroy terrorists and mercenaries is continuing and the Syrian army is determined to defeat the enemy on the way to Aleppo," he said.
Fierce fighting is underway now to control the Syrian village of Msherfe. The militants have carried out a counter attack in this area using two explosives-laden cars, but the Syrian forces have repelled the attack destroying three tanks and three infantry fighting vehicles.
Al Mayadeen TV channel has circulated a communique of the Jaish al-Fatah group that announced "the beginning of a battle for liberating the entire Aleppo." To this aim units from the neighboring provinces of Idlib and Hama will be deployed to the southern suburbs of the city.