MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Two separate formations of the Syrian armed forces, advancing from the governorates of Idlib and Aleppo, met late on Saturday in the Tell Iss district on the Aleppo-Damascus highway, the Beirut-based pan-Arab TV channel, Al Mayadeen, has reported.
According to Al Mayadeen, Syrian servicemen advancing from Idlib countryside drove militant groups out of 16 populated localities north of the city of Saraqib and entered the town of Tal al-Eiss. Meanwhile, another group of Syrian solders, who advanced from southwestern areas of Aleppo, also approached this district.
As a result of the operation, governmental troops are expected to restore control over the entire 432-km Aleppo-Damascus highway, a strategically important road linking the country’s north and south.
The Hama-Aleppo section of the highway, linking Damascus with industrial regions in the north and the country’s economic capital, Aleppo, remained under the control of terrorist groups from 2014.