Syrian Troops Capture Village Near Northern City of Aleppo

Syrian government forces on Saturday captured another village near Aleppo, tightening the noose around rebel-held parts of the northern city

In this photo released on Tuesday, Jan 12, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian government troops and allied militiamen walk inside the key town of Salma in Latakia province, Syria. SANA via AP

BEIRUT—Syrian government forces on Saturday captured another village near Aleppo, tightening the noose around rebel-held parts of the northern city, Syrian state TV and an opposition activist group said.

State TV and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops captured Tamoura Saturday around noon, amid intense shelling and air raids by Russian warplanes.

Syrian troops have been advancing under cover of Russian airstrikes with the aim of besieging rebel-held parts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. If they are able to do so, it will be the biggest defeat for insurgents since the conflict began in March 2011.

Smoke rises after shelling by Syrian army in Jobar, Damascus, Syria, on Oct. 14, 2015. Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP