Syrian Troops Dismantling Explosives in East Aleppo
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Syrian state TV said army experts are dismantling explosives and booby-traps left behind by Takfiri militants before they left the last neighborhoods they held in the northwestern city of Aleppo.
The TV's correspondent in Aleppo said mining experts entered the neighborhoods of Ansari, Sukkari and Amiriyeh early Friday, beginning their work in main streets in order to open them, AP reported.
In a statement on Thursday, Syria’s General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said the Arab country’s forces have returned security and stability to Aleppo.
The return of security to the city is a strategic development and a milestone in the fight against terrorist groups and their supporters, the statement added.
This victory underscored the power of the Syrian army and its allied forces and an end to the campaign against terrorist groups and a starting point of a new stage to defeat terrorism on Syrian soil, according to the statement.
On December 15, Syria had announced the liberation of Aleppo, with President Bashar al-Assad praising the victory as “history in the making and worthy of more than the word ‘congratulations’.”
The Syrian security forces encircled Aleppo on July 17 after closing off the last terrorist-controlled route into the city.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.