"The IS [Daaesh] attack on Aqrab took place in the early hours of Thursday. The fight was intense. The army, backed by militia, managed to repel the attacks. The terrorists suffered great losses," the source said.
Some 20 residents were killed and 45 wounded, local media reported.
SANA news agency reported that the militants carried out their attack early in the morning killing civilians and looting their houses before the army units arrived to push them back.
A medical source told the media that those wounded were admitted to the Salamiyeh National Hospital.
On Monday, the army repelled a Daesh attack on a settlement located in 23 kilometers from Aqareb.
Aqareb has a strategically important geographical position due to its location near the the M5 north-south motorway linking Aleppo with other Syrian provinces.
The Syrian army along with militias loyal to Damascus has been fighting against numerous terrorist groups, including Daesh, within a civil war that has lasted for more than six years.
