Map: Syrian Army closer than ever to ISIS Aleppo stronghold

A military source confirmed to Al-Masdar the capture of the villages of Al-Mushayrfeh and Tuman in Aleppo’s eastern countryside after hours of intense clashes with Islamic State terrorists.

The most recent advances place the Syrian Armed Forces at less than six kilometers from Al-Bab’s southern gates with reports suggesting that the government forces have already begun their preliminary artillery shelling of Tadef, ISIS’s last line of defense south of the city.

Units from the Syrian Army continue their advance to the north targeting the terror group’s positions in Aran, Beerat Al-Bab, Deir Qaq, and Shorfah and destroying several vehicles and convoys. So far, Syrian troops have managed to seize 25 villages since the launch of the aforementioned operation en route to Al-Bab.

Notably, Al-Bab is a strategic city that is within great proximity to the Syrian-Turkish borders. Following the loss of Manbij to the Syrian Democratic Forces, it became the radical group’s administrative capital in the so-called “Wilayat Halab” or Aleppo province. Turkish forces have yet to breakthrough the city after more than a dozen failed attempts in the past few months.