Syrian Army Liberates Two Villages in Latakia Province Near Turkish Border

The Syrian Army liberated two villages in the north of the Syrian Latakia province in about 12 miles from the border with Turkey over the past 24 hours, a military source said Saturday.

ARAMO, Latakia Province, (Sputnik) — The Syrian army has continued its ground operation in the territory captured by terrorists.

"We started the offensive overnight into Saturday, now I can say exactly that… [two villages] located 4 kilometers [2.5 miles] away from us [Aramo village], were fully mopped up, the advance on Salma [village] continues," the source told RIA Novosti.

Syrian General Staff Lt.-Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub said Thursday that the country's Armed Forces had launched a large-scale operation to retake occupied areas from the terrorists.

The Syrian government's forces launched the offensive after Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft, with the support of Su-30 jets, had commenced precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, airstrikes have done considerable damage to ISIL command and logistics networks, as well as to infrastructure used to equip suicide bombers.

Earlier today, political chief of the Syrian Army General Samir Suleiman said that over the past day the government's forces had cleared a small valley 25 kilometers away from the city of Idlib of Nusra Front militants.