ISIS kills 60 Assad troops near Aleppo as fight continues over supply route

 
Death toll of Syrian regime troops fighting ISIS in northern Aleppo province has reached 60, well-informed source told Zaman al Wasl Saturday.

Fighters of the ultra-hardline Islamic State group took control of a section of road southeast of Aleppo on Friday, threatening the regime army's only supply route into the city, Reuters said.

Islamic State captured parts of a road running between the towns of Khanaser and Ithriya, said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. He said battles were continuing in the area.

Zaman al Wasl reporter ISIS keep controlling the strategic road despite the huge reinforcements reached the Syrian army from Homs and Hama.

Al Qaeda's Syria wing and other insurgents are also battling pro-regime forces in surrounding areas, said Abdulrahman, who tracks the conflict using sources on the ground.

Islamic State said in a statement distributed online that it had taken control of eight army checkpoints on the road and cut off the army supply route to Aleppo, which was Syria's most populous city and commercial hub before the war broke out in 2011.

Areas around Aleppo have seen days of heavy fighting after Syrian troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian fighters launched an offensive last week to retake territory around Aleppo from rebels and jihadist fighters.

The offensive has concentrated so far on clearing rebel-held areas south of Aleppo rather than the city itself, which is home to 2 million people and divided between government forces to the west and rebels in the east.

The operation to retake areas around the northern city is one of several assaults carried out by pro-government ground forces since Russian jets began carrying out air strikes on Sept. 30 in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian troops are also trying to advance to the east of Aleppo towards Kweires military airport, aiming to break a siege of the base by Islamic State and other insurgents. (With Reuters)