10 villages were brought under government control in the eastern Aleppo countryside after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) completed a blitz offensive against ISIS fighters in the region.
Effectively, the SAA’s Tiger Forces were able to impose full control over Alisah, Zaaraya, Am Talatel, Umm Al-Amad, Barleen, Abu Tawil, Rahmaniyah, Umm Miyal, and As Safre on Thursday. These villages have not been under government control since 2012.
In addition, Syrian troops also seized the burial hill known as ‘Tall Zaaraya’, some 11 kilometers northeast of Deir Hafer, the last ISIS-held city in Aleppo province.
Meanwhile, the ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) officially handed over the adjacent village of Abu Al-Khaf after reaching a Russian-brokered deal earlier in the day that will allow the SAA would to seize control a large stretch of Kurdish-held territory west of Manbij.
Due to today’s Tiger Forces offensive, government troops are no more than 20 kilometers from reaching the Euphrates River. From then on, the SAA would be able to launch an offensive towards Raqqa, the Islamic State capital.
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