Syria forces break Daesh siege at major air base in Aleppo

Syrian army forces have broken a siege by the Daesh Takfiri militants at a major military air base in the northern province of Aleppo.

A military source close to the Syrian government said on Tuesday that the army was working on securing the Kwairis air base.

Reports said Syrian forces managed to break through the lines of the militants and then reached the soldiers trapped inside the military airport.

Celebratory gunfire could be heard from the side of the Syrian troops after they broke the two-year militant siege on the base.

Images on the state television showed areas outside the airport secured by the Syrian forces.

The state TV report said a large number of terrorists were killed during the operation, hailing it as a great victory.

Militants of the Daesh Takfiri group seized control of Kwairis in late 2013 after months of encircling the camp. The wide-scale operation to retake the base started last month with Syrian troops making sporadic advances against militants under the air cover provided by Russian fighter jets.

Other reports estimated that at least 1,000 Syrian troops had been defending Kwairis since it was captured by Daesh in 2013.

In other advances…

Syrian forces also recaptured the Rasm ul-Abd village near the airport in a mop-up operation launched afterwards.

Other army units took control of a major road south of Aleppo, according to reports.

The Syrian army and volunteer fighters have reportedly made significant gains against militants in Aleppo and elsewhere since an air campaign was launched by Russia on September 30 to assist Damascus in its fight against Daesh and other militant groups.

Syria blames the turmoil on some foreign governments, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, saying that if it was not for their support, the militants could never take control of territories across the country.

More than 250,000 have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced as a result of the crisis in Syria since March 2011.