Russian sappers demine area of 966 hectares in Aleppo

MOSCOW - Russian engineer troops have demined an area of 966 hectares in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo since early December, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Russian sappers removed mines from nearly 350 km of roads and more than 2,100 buildings. The cleared buildings included schools, mosques, hospitals, kindergartens and power plants.

"About 14,700 explosive devices were defused, including over 6,700 improvised explosive devices," the statement said.

Syrian rebels captured eastern Aleppo in 2012. Syrian government troops and allied forces retook it recently in a massive offensive.