Syrian army troops liberate Aleppo town from Daesh clutches

Syrian army soldiers have managed to liberate a key town in the northern province of Aleppo from Daesh Takfiri terrorists as they continue to score more territorial gains in battles against extremists across the war-ravaged Arab country.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency, SANA, that Syrian troops had regained control of Maskanah town, which lies on the western bank of Lake Assad and is located 100 km southeast of the provincial capital city of Aleppo, on Sunday.

“Military units continue to advance in the east of Aleppo province and track down groups of Daesh terrorists. Security and stability has been restored to the strategic town of Maskanah and a number of areas,” the source added.

The liberation of Maskanah marks a great victory for Syrian government forces as the town is the last important civilian population center on the eastern border of Aleppo with the militant-held neighboring province of Raqqah.

“Whoever controls Maskanah controls the axes running between Aleppo and Raqqah. Daesh presence in the eastern flank of Aleppo Province is now at its end,” an unnamed Syrian military official commented.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Daesh Takfiris are now in control of some villages scattered in the desert eastern and southeastern parts of Aleppo Province; and the terrains can easily be recaptured.

Meanwhile, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have established full control over a strategic dam on the Euphrates River in Raqqah Province following intense clashes with members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

The US-backed SDF militias, made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, announced in a statement on Sunday that the forces had captured the Baath Dam in the morning, and renamed it Freedom Dam.

The Baath dam on the Euphrates is located 22 kilometers (14 miles) upstream from the city of Raqqah. Its water turbines reportedly can generate 81 megawatts of electricity, and its storage capacity is 0.09 cubic kilometers.

SS