Syrian army advances in south of Aleppo province

Civilians fleeing the recent fightings in their area sit at the back of a pickup truck with their belongings in the southern countryside of Aleppo, Syria October 21, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

DAMASCUS -- The Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes made new progress in the southern countryside of the northern province of Aleppo, just two days after breaking the militant siege on a key airbase there, state-run SANA news agency reported Thursday.

The Syrian forces recaptured several villages and farmlands southwest of Aleppo on Thursday, said SANA, adding that the villages of Tal Arabain, Khurbet Mazareh and Nuzha have all fallen to the army.

Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said the Syrian forces and allied troops captured on Thursday the city of Hader, south of Aleppo.

The report said intense battles were raging in the city between the Syrian army and the armed militant groups, adding that the army units also clashed with the Islamic State (IS) group near the Thermal Station east of Aleppo.

The Syrian army broke the fortifications of the armed militants, including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in the vicinity of Hader, before entering it, the report added.

The development came just two days after the Syrian army backed by Russian air cover managed to break years of siege by the IS group on the Kweiris airbase in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

The state media and officials hailed the recent victory, saying it's a prelude to opening more fronts against the IS militants in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

The Syrian forces unleashed a wide-scale offensive on the southern countryside of Aleppo in mid-October under the support of the Russian air force, which has started striking the militant groups' positions in Syria late last September.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once an economic hub, has become carved out between the rebels in the eastern part of the city and the Syrian troops in the west.