Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured on Friday the last of three towns on the south-eastern approaches of Aleppo, state television said, advancing on the city after similar gains around the capital Damascus this week.
Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and biggest city before the uprising against Assad erupted in 2011, has been partly held by Syrian rebels and foreign jihadi fighters for more than a year.
But Assad's army and supporters has been regaining territory around Aleppo and Damascus to the south, strengthening the president's hand ahead of proposed, but long-delayed, peace talks in Geneva.
According to Reuters, state television aired a report on Friday it said was filmed in the center of the town of Tel Hasel, 10 kilometers south-east of Aleppo. Black smoke was seen in the background.