The army units are shelling the positions of militants in al-Rashidin 4 and al-Rashidin 5 neighborhoods Southwest of Aleppo city, Al Watan reported.

Dozens of militants, as well as several armored and off-road vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns have been destroyed by the airstrikes.

According to media reports, the Syrian military command announced on Tuesday that the army units are deployed in nine key locations in the city and are waiting for an order to start a large-scale offensive in Eastern districts, held by militants.

The Syrian army and Hezbollah resistance forces on Thursday managed to push back a large number of terrorists from al-Rashedeen region which is the most important concentration point of the terrorists in Southwestern Aleppo.

The pro-government troops could bring the terrorists in al-Rashedeen region to verge of collapse after taking full control of Housing Project 1070 and al-Hikma school in the Southwestern part of Aleppo.

The Syrian government forces who have been trying to take back the towns of Rashedeen 4 and 5 started the new phase of their military operations on Thursday by hitting hard the terrorists' military positions in al-Rashedeen 4 and 5 towns with artillery shells.

The Syrian air force, for its part, pounded the terrorists' positions in al-Rashedeen 4 and 5 towns.

Some news media also reported the start of the Syrian army's new operations in Zahiya al-Assad and Jamiat al-Zahra to the West of Aleppo.

Also in Northwestern Aleppo, the missile and artillery units of the Syrian army hit the terrorists' positions in the towns of Andan, Kafr Hamra and Ma'aret al-Artiq as well as their surrounding areas.

Army sources disclosed on Wednesday that pro-government troops are making final coordination for a massive offensive on Jeish al-Fatah terrorists in the Eastern parts of Aleppo city.

"As the army's 24-hour ultimatum to the terrorists to leave the city came to an end and as relative calm has prevailed over the Western and Southwestern parts of Aleppo, the army, the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and special forces are getting ready to start attacking militants' defense line from several Eastern and Southern flanks," an army officer said.

Meantime, he appreciated the Russian help, saying, "The Russian air and naval back up will speed up the Syrian army's advances in the operation."

"Government forces are about to start their operation against the terrorists in Aleppo any moment," he added.

Local sources disclosed earlier on Wednesday that civilians in the Eastern districts of Aleppo city took to the streets to oppose Jeish al-Fatah's rule in the city, calling on the militants to leave Aleppo immediately.

"Unprecedented clashes between people and terrorists have pushed the Eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city into a new wave of tensions," sources said, adding, "People have taken part in demonstrations across the districts of Bostan al-Qasr and al-Kelaseh, calling on the terrorists to leave the city now."

"People have also attacked terrorists' food stuff warehouses, fighting with the militants for looting their food stuff from their neighborhoods," the sources added.

The sources went on to say that terrorists have arrested a number of demonstrators, hitting them badly.

Civilians in militant-held districts of Aleppo are tired of terrorist groups' measures, including suppression of people and banning food and medicine for the families who prevent their young sons from joining the terrorist groups.

Meantime, Tens of fighter jets launched airstrikes on terrorists' positions in Aleppo on Tuesday to herald the long-awaited ground operations to capture the Eastern parts of the city.

Tens of warplanes started massive air assaults on enemy targets in the Eastern parts of Aleppo on Tuesday after three weeks of lull and as Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier launched combat operations in Syria, the Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news channel reported.

The airstrikes started after several humanitarian pauses declared by the Syrian army and Russia to give a chance to the civilian population as well as the militants to leave the Eastern parts of the city through 8 corridors. Thousands of civilians left the city in the first few days, but militants blocked their exist paths, threatening to kill anyone who dares to approach the passages opened by the army. The terrorists aim to use the civilian population as a human shield.

The last such pause was declared on Monday when the army gave a 24-hour lone ultimatum to the Jeish al-Fatah coalition of terrorist groups to leave the flash point city. The deadline was not met by the militants, though.

Defense experts believe that the blitzkrieg is the first part of the long-awaited army operations in Eastern Aleppo to take back the entire city. Aleppo is halved into the government-ruled West and militant-held East. The militants rejected a guaranteed exit to relocate to Idlib or other militant-ruled territories in the hope that over 30,000 fresh forces would penetrate the city through the Southwestern front to lift the army's several-month-long siege on Eastern Aleppo.

Jeish al-Fatah lost thousands of militants in over two weeks of bloody war in Southern and Southwestern Aleppo, but failed to open a corridor for entrapped friends in the East.

The massive airstrikes in Aleppo come as Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-carrying cruiser began combat operations in Syria.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced earlier that Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich launched missiles on terrorist targets in Syria.

"Today, we started a major operation to launch massive strikes on ISIL and al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front) targets in the Idlib and Homs provinces in Syria," Shoigu said at a meeting with the ministry’s leadership and defense enterprises.

"For the first time in history of Russian Navy, Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-carrying cruiser has begun military operations," Shoigu said.

Russian naval task force in Syria is reliably protected by Bastion Coastal Defense Missile Systems and Pantsir systems, the minister said.

Also, General Command of the Syrian Army announced earlier that the country's soldiers and popular forced are about to hit Jeish al-Fatah's positions in the Eastern districts of Aleppo from nine different flanks.

"Our forces, including very well trained units, are deployed in nine different fronts and are waiting for the specified deadline," the command center said in a statement.

Other informed sources disclosed that the Syrian army has prepared a large number of forces, who are expert in street battle and are equipped with lethal weapons, ready to start final the battle with the terrorist groups.

The sources also added that these forces will be backed up by the missile and air support of the Syrian and Russian forces, FNA reported.

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