The Syrian military has begun clearing the Es Salator area near the strategically important M5 Damascus-Aleppo highway not far from the northwestern city of Saraqib, which until recently was occupied by militants
ALEPPO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2020) The Syrian military has begun clearing the Es Salator area near the strategically important M5 Damascus-Aleppo highway not far from the northwestern city of Saraqib, which until recently was occupied by militants.
The government troops regained control over the highway in February after almost eight years of heavy fighting. It was briefly shut down again after clashes resumed in Idlib last month. Russia and Turkey agreed on a ceasefire for the northwestern region, which began at midnight on Friday.
"We've been preparing an operation to take this fortified area for two weeks. We were shelling at them [militants] from artillery and mortars so that they couldn't raise their heads. We had to transfer forces along the nearest road, while militants were shooting, it was constantly kept on sight by a sniper. And still, we managed to surround them," Muhammad Hamid, a Syrian army soldier told reporters.
The heights at which the Syrian air defense unit was located before the war was captured by militants seven years ago. A section of Syria's key transport artery, the M5 highway connecting Damascus with Aleppo, is controlled from there, which is the perfect location for militants to fire at the nearest settlements.
"They [the militants] held an all-around defense. As you can see yourself, this is a strategic height. If we didn't take it, we couldn't move forward to Saraqib," another Syrian army soldier said.
Syrian sappers, trained by the Russian military, are starting to demine the heights and ways to it. Soon, according to the Syrian army, crops can be grown in nearby fields.
