MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. The Syrian government army has gained full control of the strategically important Damascus-Aleppo highway, the Al-Hadath TV channel informed. According to the channel, the Syrian military has cleared the outposts of militants located between the cities of Hama and Aleppo.

The 432-km highway connects Damascus with industrial zones in northern Syria and the economic capital of Aleppo.

Idlib is the only Syrian region that has been controlled by illegal armed groups, including the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) since 2012. A northern de-escalation zone was set up in Idlib in 2017 to give shelter to militants who refused to surrender arms in Eastern Ghouta and Syria’s southern regions. The Turkish army has 12 observation outposts in the province.

On January 25, the Syrian government army began an operation with the aim to regain control over the western and southern surroundings of Aleppo. On February 5, Syrian government forces entered the town of Saraqib, an outpost of Jabhat al-Nusra in the Idlib province. Saraqib is a town of strategic importance that sits at the junction of two main roads connecting Latakia and Damascus with Aleppo.