Syria army takes road to regime-held Aleppo from IS

Syrian troops have recaptured the sole road into the government-held side of second city Aleppo from Islamic State group (IS) fighters, effectively breaking a nearly two-week-long siege, state media reported on Wednesday.

"Our army units have gained full control of the Aleppo-Khanasser-Ithriya-Salmiyeh road after eliminating a number of Daesh [IS] terrorists and it will be open for citizens from tomorrow morning," state television said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the road had been recaptured by the army, 12 days after IS forces took it, placing the government-held sector of Aleppo under effective siege.

After seizing the road, Syrian forces beheaded four IS fighters captured in the operation, the observatory said.

The city has been divided between government control in the west and rebel control in the east since shortly after fighting began there in mid-2012.

Our army units have taken control of the Aleppo-Khanasser road after eliminating a number of Daesh [IS] terrorists - Syrian television

The main Aleppo-Damascus highway out of the city has been cut by rebels since then, but last year the army opened another route running through Khanasser to government-controlled Hama and Homs.

The road was cut by IS south of Khanasser despite Russian air support for government troops.

Its closure left residents of west Aleppo stranded and sent the cost of basic goods in the sector skyrocketing.

The city has been divided between government control in the west and rebel control in the east since shortly after fighting began there in mid-2012.

The main Aleppo-Damascus highway out of the city has been cut by rebels since then, but last year the army opened another route running through Khanasser to government-controlled Hama and Homs.

Its closure last month had left residents of west Aleppo stranded and sent the cost of basic goods in the sector skyrocketing.

Residents said the roads were virtually empty because of fuel shortages, and several said they had been forced to cancel plans to travel abroad.

The IS advance was a blow to the regime as it seeks to capitalise on a Russian air campaign that began on 30 September to regain momentum against a range of opposition forces.

Russian airstrikes kill 23 civilians

According to US sources, at least 120,000 have been displaced in Syria since Russian airstrikes began.

Air strikes believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes on an IS-held town in central Syria killed 23 civilians, the observatory reported on Wednesday.

Among those killed in the Monday strikes on the Homs province town of al-Qaryatain were three children and a woman, the observatory said.

The UK-based group had earlier reported at least 10 people killed in apparent Russian strikes on the town on Monday.
It said IS fighters were also believed to have been killed in the strikes, but had no confirmed figure.

IS seized al-Qaryatain in August, kidnapping several hundred civilians.

The group has also destroyed an ancient monastery in the town, which was once seen as a symbol of coexistence in Syria.

The Observatory relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria, including opposition activists and individuals in government-held territory.

The group says it distinguishes between strikes carried out by Syrian, Russian and US-led coalition aircraft based on flight patterns indicating whether planes took off from inside the country, as well as the type of planes and ordnance used.

Russia began its air campaign in support of ally President Bashar al-Assad on September 30, saying it was targeting the IS and other "terrorists".

But rebels and their backers accuse Moscow of focusing largely on moderate and Islamist opposition forces rather than the IS.

According to the Observatory, the first month of Russian strikes killed nearly 600 people, two-thirds of them fighters.
The rest - some 185 - were civilians, it says.

A US-led coalition that has been bombing jihadist targets in Syria since September 2014 has killed 3,649 people, according to the Observatory.

It says 226 of those, around six percent, have been civilians.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.