The Syrian military has established full control of all areas surrounding Aleppo for the first time since 2012, putting an end to the terrorist shelling of the country’s second-largest city.
A total of 23 villages to the west and north of the city were liberated, as fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra) fled from their positions, state broadcaster SANA reported.
The news prompted large-scale celebrations in Aleppo. Residents took to the streets after dark waving Syrian national flags, and drivers honked their car horns.
Aleppo was freed in 2016 in a joint operation by Syrian and Russian forces, but anti-government militants remained holed up in the suburbs and nearby villages. From there, they shelled the city with mortars on a regular basis, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths.
