IS besieged in last bastion
The Islamic State group is "completely besieged" in its last major stronghold in Syria's Aleppo province, a monitor said yesterday, as pro-regime forces piled pressure on the jihadists on several fronts.
IS fighters were cut off in Al-Bab after forces loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad severed a road into the northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
"Al-Bab is now completely besieged by the regime from the south, and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east, north and west," said the Britain-based monitor.
It came after "the regime's forces and allied militia seized the only and last main road used by the jihadists between Al-Bab and Raqa," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, referring to the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.
Regime forces were backed by fighters from Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah and by Russian artillery, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports.
The town of Al-Bab, 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of the border with Turkey, is seen as a prize by nearly all sides in the complex war.
Since December, Turkey-backed rebel fighters known as the Euphrates Shield alliance have edged towards Al-Bab from the north.
In January, Turkey's air force began carrying out joint bombing raids around Al-Bab with Assad's ally Russia. The two parties back opposing sides in the war but have joined forces in recent months to try to bring an end to the conflict.
Experts from Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United Nations held a technical meeting in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, to discuss in detail the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire agreement, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
He said the agenda included reviewing the implementation of the cessation of hostilities, discussing a proposal from the Syrian armed opposition about the ceasefire, and determining options about how to implement it.
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