News - Middle East: Russian and Syrian warplanes have struck militant positions in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib to repel an offensive by foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists, as government forces are pressing ahead with their counteroffensive.

The Syrian army and Russia targeted the hideouts of terrorist groups in Idlib on Sunday, as they intensified bombing of militant-held areas in northwest Syria near the border with Turkey to push back the militant offensive for the second day.

The Syrian army also said it had recaptured several towns that had been overrun in recent days by the terrorists.  

This came after the Syrian army began a counterattack on positions held by the militants in the southeast of Idlib on Thursday, regaining control over Jobas village and forcing the militants to leave the villages of Dadikh and Kafr Battikh, east of Idlib.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops are now regrouping and reinforcements are also being sent to Aleppo to help in the counteroffensive against the foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists after they swept into the city on Friday, according to army sources.

The terrorists led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a large-scale attack in Aleppo and Idlib provinces in the northwest of Syria on Wednesday, seizing several areas.

Since then, the Syrian government forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists to regain ground.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011, with Damascus saying the Western states and their regional allies are aiding terrorist groups to wreak havoc in the Arab country.

The Syrian army has said it had inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists who had attacked a wide front, adding that it was cooperating with Russia and "friendly forces" to regain ground.

Russia, alongside Iran, has assisted Syrian forces in battles across the conflict-plagued country, mainly by providing aerial support to ground operations against foreign-backed terrorists.

Israel has been the principal supporter of terrorist groups that oppose the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria in March 2011.

The onslaught on Aleppo marking the resurgence of Takfiri terrorism came just after Israel submitted to a ceasefire in its war on Lebanon where Hezbollah put up fierce resistance to Israeli troops trying to occupy pockets of the country's south. 
 Source: Press TV