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After Freeing Aleppo Syrian Army, Russian Aircraft Could Focus on Raqqa

© AFP 2023 / GEORGE OURFALIANSyrian government forces' tanks drive in the village of Tal Jabin, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, as they advanced to break a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, and take control of parts of the supply route on February 3, 2016
Syrian government forces' tanks drive in the village of Tal Jabin, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, as they advanced to break a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, and take control of parts of the supply route on February 3, 2016 - Sputnik International
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The Damascus-led army and Russian aerial forces are apparently close to freeing Syria's largest city of Aleppo, raising hopes that Raqqa, the unofficial capital of Daesh's crumbling Islamic state, could be next.

"After losing up to 60,000 soldiers in five years of fighting, the Syrian army has suddenly scored its greatest victory of the war – smashing its way through Jabhat al-Nusra and the other rebel forces around Aleppo and effectively sealing its fate as Russia provided air strike operations outside the city," English journalist Robert Fisk asserted.

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Thanks to Russia's military engagement, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has in recent weeks turned the tide of the war against numerous radical groups, who are trying to oust Bashar al-Assad.

In the last 48 hours alone, the SAA is reported to have taken the key town of Ta'ana and the strategic Barlaheen hilltop in the Aleppo province under control, killing and wounding scores of terrorists, as well as destroying militant infrastructure and military hardware elsewhere.

The decisive victory of the Syrian Arab Army in Aleppo could well deal a fatal blow to the terrorist group that is rapidly losing territories it once claimed in Iraq and Syria.

© AP Photo / Militant Website, FileFighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) marching in Raqqa, Syria (File photo)
Fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) marching in Raqqa, Syria (File photo) - Sputnik International
Fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) marching in Raqqa, Syria (File photo)

Daesh "must be learning of the extraordinary developments of the past few hours with deep concern. The everlasting Sunni 'Islamic Caliphate' in Syria doesn't look so everlasting anymore," Fisk added.

Many experts believe that militant losses on the Syrian battlefield are the primary reason why the Saudi-backed umbrella opposition group left Geneva, instead of making an effort to find a compromise with Damascus. The new facts on the ground in Syria could also explain why Turkey and Saudi Arabia appear to be on the verge of sending ground troops to the war-torn country.

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