(tasnim) -- "There have been serious changes in Syria over the past month. The Syrian government troops with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces achieved serious successes and brought substantial losses to a large group of ISIS in central Syria,” Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said as quoted by Sputnik news on Monday.

“The Aleppo province has been fully liberated from terrorists," he added.

The Russian general also said that the Syrian city of Akerbat in the west-central province of Hama will soon be liberated from ISIS as government forces continue advance their offensive.

On December 15, Syria announced the liberation of Aleppo city, with President Bashar al-Assad praising the victory as “history in the making and worthy of more than the word ‘congratulations’.”

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including ISIS, currently controlling parts of it.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.