Shell Shocked: Militants Retreat From Strategic Towns in Aleppo Province

The Syrian Army, supported by the country's Air Force, has attacked Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) strongholds in northern Syria's Aleppo province, killing dozens of terrorists, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

Sources said that the Syrian troops launched a number of offensives on Daesh-held positions in the towns of Al-Bab, Qabasin, and Beza on Wednesday.

Additional militant strongholds were also reportedly destroyed by Syrian fighter jets in Handarat and Hraytan north of the city of Aleppo; the Islamists suffered heavy losses in the airstrikes.

In another development earlier this week, the Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted militants' positions across the city of Aleppo, damaging their military hardware in different areas of the city, FARS reported.

Also this week, the Syrian Army seized back two strategic villages in eastern Aleppo and repelled a large-scale attack by Daesh and other terrorist groups in the north of the province, sources said.

Earlier, government troops thwarted a large-scale attack by the terrorists on government forces' lines of defense in the northern part of Aleppo province.

Dozens of militants were killed or wounded after their attempts to prevail over the defensive lines of Syrian Army positions in Tal al-Madhafah in the southern part of Handarat were dashed by the government forces.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting opposition factions and terrorist groups such as Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front, which are banned in Russia.

Adding to the Syrian Army's anti-terror effort is Russia's ongoing air campaign in Syria which was launched on September 30, when more than fifty Russian warplanes, including Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-34 jets, commenced precision airstrikes on Daesh and Al-Nusra Front targets in Syria at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed earlier this month that advanced, super-maneuverable Su-35S multi-role fighters had begun their combat mission in Syria.