On Saturday, the Syrian army, backed by air and artillery cover, delivered a major blow to a coalition of terrorist groups after the latter launched repeated attacks on military academies to the south of Aleppo.
A military source said a large number of terrorists were killed and many others sustained injuries in the clashes.
A large number of vehicles as well as equipment belonging to the militants were also destroyed.
Meanwhile, other reports said the Syrian army had repelled an attack by terrorist groups on an army artillery base in Aleppo, inflicting heavy casualties on the terrorists.
The army killed hundreds of terrorists from the so-called Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) which includes Jabhat Fateh al Sham, the former al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham and other smaller groups, who claimed had taken the main fortress-like artillery academy in the Ramousah quarter in southwestern Aleppo.
The artillery base, which is almost two kilometers from the besieged opposition area, has a huge supply of ammunition.
Still, the army is tightening the noose on terrorists in the city as it has laid siege to most militant-held neighborhoods in Aleppo.
Militants have abandoned fighting in some areas to avoid further losses. They are also trying to keep civilians in the city to use them as human shields in a bid to slow the army’s advance.
Aleppo has been divided between government forces in the west and militants in the east since 2012.
Some 250,000 civilians live under siege in Aleppo's militant-held areas since the army cut off the last road into militant districts in early July.
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.
S/SH 11