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#SYRIA

#ISIS Claims Suicide Attack Near #Kara Of #Aleppo Countryside, Carried Out By Abu Ubaydah Al-Hamawi.

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New TOWs appear in #Syria, used by the #FSA

#KhanTuman, S-W of #Aleppo city.

Russian Marines expand into east #Aleppo https://t.co/iml0IPOIzx #Russia #Syria

Russian Air Force pounds the rebels main supply route in west Aleppo

Over the last 48 hours, the main highway leading to the Bab Al-Hawa border-crossing into the Turkish city of Reyhanli (Hatay Province of western Turkey) has been closed off as a result of the Russian Air Force’s strategic bombing campaign in the Aleppo Governorate’s western countryside.

The Russian airstrikes have been concentrated on the Reyhanli-Aleppo Highway, which is the primary supply route for the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group), Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham (largest Islamist group), Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to western and southern Aleppo.

Friday morning, the Russian Air Force struck an Islamist rebel convoy on the way to southwestern Aleppo in order to reinforce their fighters combating the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division, Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi paramilitary) near the M-5 Highway (Aleppo-Damascus Highway).

As a result of these targeted airstrikes by the Russian Air Force, the Islamist rebels have been unable to resupply their combatants near the Idlib-Aleppo border.

If the Islamist rebels are unable to utilize this highway, they will ultimately be without a primary supply to combat the Syrian Government forces in southwest Aleppo.

The Syrian Armed Forces have yet to begin phase 3 of the southern Aleppo offensive; however, with these airstrikes obstructing the rebel supply route, this assault could begin in the coming days.

Moments ago in the northern Aleppo countryside, the Syrian Arab Army’s 154th Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division – in close coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and several Iraqi paramilitary units – imposed full control over two hilltops located along the road from Al-Zahra’a to the nearby village of Tannourah. According to several battlefield correspondents in northern Aleppo, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies captured Duhrat Al-Qur’ah and Duhrat Al-Qundilah after a violent battle with the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group), the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, Harakat Nourideen Al-Zinki, Jabhat Al-Shamiyah, and Jaysh Al-Mujahiddeen. With the capture of the aforementioned hills in northern Aleppo this morning, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies are attempting to build a buffer-zone around the strategic towns of Al-Zahra’a and Nubl.

y pushing south towards Tannourah and its nearby quarries, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies will have effectively flanked the Islamist rebels at the village of Bayyanoun, leaving them with only route to retreat. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, the battle for Aleppo will likely continue because of the large presence of Islamist rebel fighters from Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, who refuse to negotiate a cessation of hostilities with the Syrian government.

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/hezbollah-syrian-capture-2-hills-in-northern-aleppo-as-rebels-continue-to-retreat/ | Al-Masdar News