Continued military operations in al-Bab countryside
Aleppo province: Regime forces targeted with shells YPG in Menegh military airport and around Tal Refaat town in the northern countryside, no reports of losses. An officer in regime forces was killed around alNeirab military airport amid continued clashes around al-Bab city between IS and regime forces backed by Hezbollah and Russian tanks amid missiles bombardment on the area, in an attempt to siege the IS after cutting the main road between al-Bab city and the eastern countryside and Der-Ezzor, only few roads left for the IS to use.
This advancement came after about 24 hours of the Turkish forces and the “Euphrates Shield’s” Failure in holding their control over Bzaah town of which they lost, returning to the “Islamic State” organization’s control again, after a counter attacks by members of the organization, started by detonating a booby trapped vehicle targeting a location of the “Euphrates Shield” forces and the Turkish forces supporting them, and caused casualties in the ranks of the last mentioned.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also received information from several reliable sources at the end of January 2017, that the “Islamic State” organization is worried about the siege in al-Bab area and started getting ready to retreat of it, by sending the families of its fighters and its leaders from the city and the area around al-Bab, to areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization in other Syrian areas, also the Syrian Observatory for human rights documented in the 4th of February the killing of about 40 members of the “Islamic State” organization in clashes that took place in Bzaah and Aran and in the southern and southeastern countryside of al-Bab, where more than 15 of them were killed on the fronts against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them in the southern countryside of al-Bab.