TEHRAN (FNA)- A Tal Rifat-bound column of fresh
militants recruited and trained in Turkey was targeted by the Syrian and
Russian warplanes on a road near the newly-liberated city in the
Northern part of Aleppo on Tuesday, sources said, adding that 300
terrorists were killed in the air raid.
The
Russian and Syrian fighter jets, in a joint operation, tracked and
targeted an over 300-member convoy of fresh militants, who had earlier
crossed the Syria-Turkey border to join the terrorist groups operating
in Tal Rifat and its surroundings.
The militants column was on a road connecting Azaz and Tal Rifat.
In addition to the killing and wounding of almost
the entire members of the column, the terrorists' vehicles and weapons
were also destroyed in the air raid.
Reports said earlier today that the Turkish Army's
artillery units have been pounding the strategic city of Tel Rifat
North of Syria's Aleppo province that was taken back by the Kurdish
fighters from the terrorists last night.
Positions of the Kurdish “People’s Protection
Units” (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Tal Rifat have
been under the massive shelling of the Turkish artillery since early
hours of this morning.
The Kurdish fighters that are backed up by the
Russian air force have been making rapid advances in the Northern parts
of Aleppo and the Turkish artillery shelling seems to be aimed at
stopping their advances against the militant groups in the region that
is close to the border with Turkey.
On Monday night, the YPG, who have recently bonded
with the government, prevailed over the terrorists in the highly
strategic city of Tal Rifat in Northern Aleppo and captured the city.
The YPG, who enjoyed the Russian air backup,
prevailed the terrorists' positions from the Western direction and shook
hand with other Kurdish troops who entered the town from the North.
The YPG Kurds have recently bonded with the
Damascus government. The Syrian army sent several arms cargoes to the
YPG troops in the Northeastern province of Hasaka and trained the first
group of Kurdish volunteer forces in the provincial capital city of
Hasaka last week.
FNA battlefield dispatches said Monday night that
heavy clashes are underway on the Eastern outskirts of the city as Ahrar
al-Sham terrorists and groups of Al-Nusra Front - that have just
arrived in Northern Aleppo via the Turkish territories - are retreating
from their positions.
The Kurdish fighters, backed up by the Russian
fighter jets, Syrian army artillery units and popular forces launched
the assault on the terrorists in Tal Rifat in two fronts.
The first units of the YPG engaged in clashes with
the terrorists from the Western direction of the strategic town North
of Aleppo province, while other units started an attack from the
Northern flank.
The first group arrived at the Western gates of
the town on Sunday, while the second group had to purge several small
towns and villages to open up the path to Tal Rifat and, hence, arrived
in the Northern parts of the city on Monday.
The second groups of Kurdish fighters approaching
the strategic town from the North comprised of YPG and SDF (Syrian
Democratic Forces) units.
The SDF that is comprised of mainly Kurdish
fighters as well as a few hundred Syrian Arab dissident forces have
received trainings from the US and have been provided with scanty
US-coalition air support in their battles in Raqqa province in
Northeastern Syria; but in Northern and Northwestern battlefronts, they
have been operating alongside the YPG and received the Russian air
backup in their Aleppo wars that started with the conquest of Tishrin
Dam on the Euphrates early in February.
Assisted by the Syrian army - that has along with
popular forces and Hezbollah conquered almost all militant-held regions
in Eastern, Southern, Western and Northwestern Aleppo province - and
Russian air support, the Kurdish forces fighting against the terrorists
in North-Northeast Aleppo province have been making striking advances
against the Al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and ISIL terrorists in February.
"The militant groups have been surprised by the
rapid offensive of the Kurdish fighters and have been pinned down behind
their defense lines in Tal Rifat," sources from the Western flank told
FNA on Sunday.
"The Russian warplanes carried out several combat
sorties over the militants' position in the around the town and
destroyed their defense lines," they added.
Later on Sunday, the Kurdish fighters, backed by
Russian fighter jets, engaged in intense clashes with the terrorist
groups at the Western entrance of the strategic town and captured
several building blocks.
To hinder to slow down the rapid advances of the
Northern units, Turkey relocated hundreds of terrorists from Idlib
province to Aleppo via its soil in the weekend.
"At least 400 militants were transferred to
Northern Aleppo to help the terrorists who are losing the ground to the
Kurdish fighters who are backed by Russian air force," Arab media
outlets disclosed on Sunday.
In addition, the Turkish army started days of
nonstop pounding of the Kurdish fighters in Northern Aleppo on Friday to
pin them down specially in the North and prevent them from shaking
hands with other Kurdish troops fighting in the Northern Aleppo town.
The Turkish army shelling has targeted both Syrian
army positions in Northern Lattakia and Kurdish fronts in Northern
Aleppo and continued for four days now.
Several villages in vast areas of Afrin in
Northwestern Syria came under artillery shelling by the Turkish army and
terrorist groups all throughout Sunday.
The Turkish army, Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham
pounded the villages of Marimin and Anab in Afrin region on Sunday.
Residents of Marimin and Anab said that their villages were hit with
over numerous rockets and 30 artillery shells today.
Report said on Saturday that Turkey’s army shelled
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) positions near the city of Azaz
in Northwestern Syria. Turkish forces started shelling an airbase and a
village, recently captured by Kurds, in Aleppo province in Syria.
A Kurdish official confirmed that the shelling targeted the Minaq air base located South of Azaz in Aleppo province.
"Turkish forces started shelling the YPG positions
on the territory of the Minaq airbase," a YPG spokesperson told the
Arabic-language TV channel, Al-Mayadeen on Saturday.
Turkey vowed on Sunday that it would not allow the
pro-government forces in Syria to capture the militant-held city of
Azaz close to its border.
On Monday, the Kurdish “People’s Protection Units”
(YPG), enjoying Russian air backup, continued to advance against the
militant groups in the Northern part of Aleppo province and stormed the
militant groups' defense lines near the small town of Kaljabrein in the
surroundings of Tal Rifat, killing, at least, 40 terrorists.
The Russian fighter jets have played significant role in the recent victories of the Kurdish fighters in the province.
The Kurdish fighters seized control over
Kaljabrein-Tal Rifat road and killed one of the commanders of Jeish
al-Fatah, nom de guerre Ismayeel Naddaf.
Later on Monday, a main line of supply of the
terrorist groups to Tal Rifat was cut by the heavy mortar shelling of
the YPG forces.
"The YPG forces, deployed on the road of Ein
al-Daqnah to Kaljabrein, pounded a road connecting Tal Rifat to the
towns of Azaz and Marea in the Northern part of Aleppo province, leaving
the militants in Tal Rifat with no way towards its Northern side,"
sources said.
Sources also said "both the Kurdish fighters and
the terrorists have been targeting each other by their artillery
shelling since the early hours of this (Monday) morning".
A report said earlier on Monday that the Syrian
army once again deployed the Russian T-90 tanks against the terrorists
in Aleppo Front in Northern Syria.
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