Syrian army soldiers deal hard blows to militants across Aleppo Fri Aug 5, 20

Syrian government forces, backed by allied fighters from popular defense groups, have managed to thwart a string of militant attacks in the western and southern parts of the strategic northwestern city of Aleppo, Press TV reports.

On Thursday, the Syrian troops lobbed a barrage of artillery rounds at three militant positions as army fighter jets carried out airstrikes in support of the operation.

Foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants mounted their attacks from Aleppo’s western neighborhood of Rashideen towards government-held 1070 housing complex in al-Assad suburb.

“Here we monitor the supply line of the terrorists between Hekma building and 1070 quarter. Terrorists in the quarter are trapped, because our troops on the ground are encircling them. We will strike and kill them,” a Syrian army soldier told Press TV.

Later in the day, Syrian government forces thwarted Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) attacks on other western and southern parts of Aleppo.

The Syrian Joint Operations Command said in a statement that Jaish al-Fatah militants changed tactics in the areas under their control, and are only trying to resist than to break the siege laid to the regions.

The statement further noted that some militant groups associated with Jaish al-Fatah, including Ahrar al-Sham, have abandoned fighting in some Aleppo areas to avoid further losses.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Back in 2014, the United Nations said it would no more update its death toll for Syria because it could not verify the figures that it received from various sources.