Photo by AFP
Government forces have broken a siege by Islamic State (IS) of an airbase in northern Syria, state media report, the BBC reports.
Army units had made contact with troops defending Kuwairis airbase, east of Aleppo, and eliminated large numbers of militants, the Sana news agency said.
The facility had been under attack by the jihadists for nearly two years.
Syrian government forces were holed up inside the Kuwairis base under siege from Islamic State, while pro-government forces tried to reach them with air support from Russia.
The successful assault on the base comes a week after the Syrian army battled Islamic State to regain control of a road southeast of Aleppo and took back control of the government’s only supply route into the city.
Areas around Aleppo have seen weeks of heavy fighting after Syrian troops, backed by Lebanese and Iranian fighters, launched an offensive to retake surrounding territory from rebels and jihadist fighters.
