Syrian government forces have carried out a string of operations against foreign-backed Takfiri militants on the outskirts of Aleppo, establishing control over several hilltops and villages, a report says.
The advances rollback the short-lived gains from a massive militantoffensive launched on Sunday to endthe Syrian army'ssiege of eastern districts of the city.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saidon Wednesday troops managed to recapture two hilltops and two small villages in the southwestern suburbs of Aleppothe previous night.
The observatorys director, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Syrian government troopsare launching counter-attacks to repel militant offensives, saying 50 Takfiri extremists and dozens of government soldiers have been killed during fierce clashes.
The pro-government al-Watan daily said government forces advanced again south and southwest of Aleppo because of the major setbacks that foreign-backed terrorists had received.
Government forces have liberated a number of key neighborhoods, including Bani Zeid, in Aleppo in recent weeks.
As the advances continue, anew video has emerged ofa major cache of US- and Turkish-builtweapons seized by the army inBani Zeid.
The munitions includeguided anti-tank missiles like BGM-71 TOW and relevant launchers which are the weapons of choice widely used by militants in the war.
Also on Wednesday, Syrian army soldiers, backed by allied fighters from popular defense groups, destroyed several terrorist hideouts on the eastern outskirts of the southwestern city of Suwayda, killing and injuring a large number of extremists.
Separately, scores of militants were killed and injured as government forces launched mop-up operations in the city of Daraa.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The United Nations (UN)s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Back in 2014, the UN said it would no more update its death toll for Syria because it could not verify the figures that it received from various sources.