Syrian army advance helps secure Aleppo road

BEIRUT — The Syrian army said on Saturday it had seized mountainous territory from the Daesh terror to the east of the road linking Damascus to Aleppo, helping to secure a critical lifeline for the government that has often come under Daesh attack.

The army also said it had seized 22 villages and farms from Daesh near Maskaneh, the last major extremist group-held town in Aleppo province. The capture of Maskaneh will bring Russian-backed government forces to the border of Raqqa province, much of which is held by US-backed groups that are also fighting Daesh.

Government forces supported by Iranian-backed militias and the Russian army have stepped up attacks on Daesh on several fronts in recent weeks as a "de-escalation" deal brokered by Russia and Turkey has reduced fighting in western Syria.

The army said it had captured the northeastern and central portions of a mountain range to the east of the Khanaser-Ithriya road. "It certainly widens the circle of security around the Damascus-Aleppo road," a military source told Reuters.

The Khanaser-Ithriya road is the only government-controlled route linking Aleppo to other government-held cities of western Syria. Sections of the main highway to Aleppo, which runs through western Syria, remain in rebel hands.

The town of Maskaneh is located on the western banks of the River Euphrates in Aleppo province some 10km from the provincial border with Raqqa. The next major urban centre to the east is Tabqa, which was captured from Daesh by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in May.

The United States has so far ruled out cooperating with the Russian-backed government in the fight against Daesh in Syria, where the group has been forced into retreat by the separate campaigns being waged against it.