The ISIS no longer has a presence in Syria’s Aleppo after withdrawing from a series of villages where regime forces were advancing, a monitor said.
“ISIS withdrew from 17 towns and villages and is now effectively outside of Aleppo province after having a presence there for four years,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Regime forces had been advancing on a sliver of southeastern Aleppo province around a key highway linking Hama province to the southwest and Raqa province further east.
Abdel Rahman said regime forces seized control of the road late Thursday night, prompting the remaining ISIS fighters to flee. A Syrian military source in rural Aleppo confirmed the withdrawal.
US-backed Kurdish and allied Arab fighters ousted the jihadists from Kobane on the Turkish border in 2015 and from the key city of Manbij last year. Syria’s conflict has left over 3,20,000 people dead since 2011.
