Syrian Army Captures Village in Aleppo Province

Pro-government fighters walk past debris in the Syrian town of Arbid on the outskirts of Kweyris military airbase, in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, on November 12, 2015 (Source: AFP PHOTO / George Ourfalian)

BEIRUT (Reuters)””Syrian government forces captured the village of Tel Hadya in the northern province of Aleppo on Friday, a monitoring group and state media said, in the latest territorial gains reported against insurgents in the area, Reuters reports.

The reported advance brought pro-government forces closer to the main highway that links Syria’s major cities, building on other gains made in the area with support from Russian air strikes.

There was no immediate comment from rebels, including al Qaeda’s Nusra Front, who have been in control of the area.

Fighting has intensified even as world and regional powers prepare to meet in Vienna in a bid to step up diplomatic efforts to the end the four-year-old conflict.

Syrian state TV reported the takeover of Tel Hadya and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict using sources on the ground, confirmed it.

The advance came a day after the Syrian army backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters,Iranian troops and Russia air raids took the nearby town of Al Hader, effectively bringing government forces in control of most of the southern Aleppo countryside.

“The southern Aleppo countryside is falling hill after hill”¦ the army is advancing quickly,”