Syrian government troops and their allied forces have laid siege to the town of al-Bab, the largest stronghold of Daesh fighters in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, according to a pro-opposition monitoring group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday that Syrian forces had completely surrounded the town.
The Britain-based group added that the advance followed the army’s capture of Awishyah hill, which is several hundred meters away from a road that links al-Bab to Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces.
The capture of the hill came hours after Syrian troops took control of the village of Awishyah, it said.
The latest advance means government forces have now encircled the militants in the towns of al-Bab, Bizaah, Qabasin and Tedif.
In January, the monitoring group reported that Daesh had transferred their families out of al-Bab to other areas under their control ahead of the Syrian army’s imminent advance on the town.
Meanwhile, Turkish forces fighting as part of Operation Euphrates Shield have failed to keep their control over Bizaah. Daesh fighters are said to have recaptured the town after multiple ambushes that left an unconfirmed number of Turkish soldiers dead.
In August last year, the Turkish air force and special ground forces launched Operation Euphrates Shield inside Syria in a declared bid to aid the Free Syrian Army militants against Daesh militants.
