Syrian Troops Recapture Key Town West of Aleppo – Source

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) - Syrian government troops recaptured the flashpoint town of Khan al-Asal west of Aleppo on Tuesday, a military source said.

"The Syrian army has freed the strategic town of Khan al-Asal in the west of the Aleppo province after fierce fighting with the Nusra Front terrorist group [banned in Russia]," the source said.

The Syrian government is in control of the M5 highway that connects the capital with the northwestern city of Aleppo and has been fighting to push militants out of its suburbs to stop them from shelling residential areas.

The advancement comes amid increased tensions in the neighbouring Idlib province as the Turkish Defence Ministry stated earlier this day that 51 units belonging to the Syrian Army had been destroyed.

The day before, the same ministry stated that the country's forces had struck 115 Syrian government targets, destroying 101 of them. The move was a response to an alleged attack on Turkish military posts in Idlib by Syrian government forces.

Tensions in Northern Syria started to escalate last week after eight Turkish nationals were killed in a shelling conducted by Syrian government forces on Turkey's observation post in Idlib.