The Syrian military says its forces have undertaken a redeployment operation in the northwestern city of Aleppo as part of preparations for a major counteroffensive against foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists who have launched a surprise offensive on government-held positions.
“The large numbers of terrorists and the multiplicity of battlefronts prompted our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defense lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers, and prepare for a counterattack,” the army said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement added that Takfiri militants had not been able to establish fixed positions in Aleppo city due to the army’s continued bombardment of their positions.
The army promised to “expel them and restore the control of the state … over the entire city and its countryside.”
The Syrian military had earlier stated it had inflicted heavy losses on foreign-backed terrorists led by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Shams (HTS) Takfiri group in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib over the previous few days.
According to three military sources cited by the Reuters news agency, Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport and canceled all flights on Saturday.
The pro-government al-Watan daily newspaper reported airstrikes on the edge of Aleppo city targeting the supply lines of terrorists.
It posted a video of a missile landing on a gathering of militants and vehicles, in a street lined with trees and buildings.
Twenty militants were killed in the airstrikes, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Aleppo residents also reported fierce clashes between terrorists and government forces. Some fled the fighting to save their lives.
While bakeries were open on Saturday, schools and government offices were closed, according to Sham FM radio station, as most people stayed indoors.
HTS-led terrorists carried out a surprise assault in the Aleppo and Idlib countryside on Wednesday and overran a number of villages and towns before entering Aleppo on Friday.
On Friday, Syrian state television said Russia was providing the Arab nation’s military with air support.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011, with Damascus saying the Western states and their regional allies are aiding terrorist groups to wreak havoc in the Arab country.
Terror outfits are seeking to hinder the Syrian government’s efforts aimed at consolidating security and stability in the country, which is also under the Israeli regime’s regular aggression.
Israel has been the principal supporter of terrorist groups that oppose the democratically-elected government of President Bashar al-Assad since the foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria in March 2011.
