DAMASCUS: The Syrian army has secured most of the area around Aleppo International Airport and could reopen the facility which fighting has kept closed for nearly a year, a military source said Monday.
"All of the area southeast of the airport is in the hands of the army," the source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, adding that a reopening was "now possible."
The comments came a day after the army gained control over Base 80, a strategic facility charged with securing the airport just outside Aleppo, Syria's second city.
The army's advances follow the fall of Sfeira, a town southeast of Aleppo that was recaptured by regime troops at the beginning of November, after months in rebel hands.
"After several days of fighting, the army controls the portion of the highway between Sfeira and Aleppo," the source said,