Fighters of the Free Syrian Army on Wednesday fully took over the strategic highway linking the ISIS-controlled Albab in the north to the city of Aleppo.
Albab lies 30 km south of the Turkish border and is home to around 200,000 people. It fell to the ISIS extremist group on January 14, 2014.
The latest FSA advance, with intense ground and aerial support by the Turkish military, is part of Operation Euphrates Shield launched by the FSA on August 24 to drive out ISIS and other terrorist groups from northern Syria.
Activists in northern rural Aleppo said that the FSA fighters also took control of Mount Aqeel and Alhikma Hospital west of Albab, tightening the noose on the town.
The capture of Mount Aqeel, which overlooks most neighborhoods of Albab town, will make it difficult for militants of the ISIS extremist group to maneuver inside the town.
The capture of Albab will prevent the PYD terrorist militias from further expanding their control in northern Syria.
On August 24, Turkey-backed FSA groups started Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria and have since captured nearly 217 villages and towns from ISIS, including Jarablus and Alra’i. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
