Syrian government forces have taken control of a major town in the coastal province of Latakia, as fierce fighting continues in areas across the country.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regained control of Kinsabba on Saturday as Russian airstrikes backed them, Al Jazeera reported.
Syrian journalist Eyad al-Hosain, who is embedded with the troops, said government forces now control Kinsabba and the hills surrounding it, southwest of the city of Jisr al-Shughur. He wrote on his Facebook page that the battle lasted 12 hours.
Syrian government forces first captured Kinsabba in February after it was held by terrorists for weeks.
Insurgents, including members of Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, regained control of the town on July 1.
In the divided city of Aleppo, airstrikes killed at least 20 civilians, including five children, in the eastern, opposition-held neighborhoods.
Terrorist Attacks Repelled
Meanwhile, Terrorists shelled parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo with rockets, killing at least five and injuring another nine people on Saturday.
RT reported that a massive explosion was also seen at a military plant outside Aleppo, with blasts heard in a 100-km radius from the site.
Al-Nusra Front and IS militants opened fire at residential areas of Aleppo city, according to Russia’s Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Parties in Syria.
The militants hit the city’s neighborhoods of Halab, al-Jalid, al-Asad, Sheikh Maqsood, al-Khalidiyah, Old Ashkhaba, al-Zahraa and airport with rocket fire.
Five missiles landed in the city’s main square near the municipal palace killing three people and injuring six more, Syria’s state SANA news agency reported.
Al-Shahbaa and al-Andalus neighborhoods have also came under heavy terrorist shelling with 10 rockets fired by the militants, killing two women and inflicting injuries on another three.
The terrorists have also carried out attacks on various settlements in Aleppo province, targeting Naqqarin, Braidge al-Rih, and Tell Jobegja inhabited areas.
The militants attempted to mount an offensive on Syrian armed forces positions northwest of Aleppo, as four suicide car bombers were deployed to hit the government’s positions, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported, noting that assault did not succeed.
“All attacks have been repelled. The terrorists have been eliminated,” it said in a statement.
