BEIRUT, November 29. /TASS/. The Syrian Army started a counteroffensive on the positions of the former Nusra Front (outlawed in Russia) terrorist group, which captured over 20 settlements north and west of Aleppo (360 km away from Damascus), Al Mayadeen reported.

According to the report, the government forces have already liberated the town of El Bakoum. Previously, military units from other parts of Syria were relocated to Aleppo. The M-5 highway connecting Damascus and Aleppo has been shut down due to the threat of terrorist raids.

During the attack on November 27, terrorists from the Nusra Front and allied groups approached dangerously close to Aleppo, taking positions 7-10 km away from the city. Numerous refugees started coming to Syria’s northern capital, which was liberated from militias in 2016.

The government forces were able to stop the enemy’s advance on several swathes of the frontline; the enemy lost several hundred militants in the fight.

Field military sources told the Al Watan newspaper on Thursday that the Syrian artillery carried out strikes at enemy supply lines near Aleppo and in the Idlib Province. The Syrian Air Force and drones attacked enemy positions in Bsartun, Al-Wasata, and on Qabtan al Jabal and Sheikh Aquil heights.