Syrian troops backed by Russian air strikes battled Islamic State group fighters on Saturday in a bid to restore a key supply line to second city Aleppo, a monitoring group said.
At least 28 IS fighters and 21 troops and militia have been killed in the battle for the road that leads to the government-held sector of Aleppo city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The jihadists’ cutting of the highway from the rest of government-held territory on Friday dealt a blow to the regime, which has launched multiple ground offensives since Russia began an air campaign on September 30.