Al Masdar News melder at det pågår noe som kan være et avgjørende slag om det nordlige Aleppo 7. juli 2016. Nettavisa skriver:
The Syrian Army’s elite Tiger Forces successfully recaptured the southern parts of Mallah Farms in Aleppo’s northern outskirts, inching closer to the Castello Road, the main supply route to the rebel-held districts of Aleppo. Ferocious battles broke out this early morning with heavy artillery and short-range rockets, aided by Russian airstrikes, before infantry troops marched on, positioning itself some 1 km from the Castello road. A military source confirmed to Al-Masdar News that the main supply route has been totally cut off with every inch of it now under the Army’s firepower.“Huge numbers of militants were killed and injured, while the rest fled the battleground before being completely besieged by the Army”, the source added, “all rebels reinforcements intended for Mallah battlefield have been literally wiped out; thanks to Russian airstrikes”. The Farms bears a strategic importance as it overlooks the Castello route and other militant-held bastions in Mseibin to the north and Hritan to the west. The Castello road has been and last and only lifeline for Aleppo Islamist factions – including al-Qaeda Syrian branch – through which they received weapons, ammunition and reinforcements.
Meldinga bekreftes av BBC som skriver at «syriske regjeringsstyrker har effektivt kuttet av den eneste veien inn i opprørernes områder i Aleppo, sier både syriske kilder og opprørerne».
BBC er riktignok så høflige at de ikke skriver at dette dreier seg om jihadistiske styrker.
I en så langvarig og komplisert krig som internasjonskrigen i Syria er det vanskelig å gi en sikker vurdering, men dette virker som et slags vendepunkt i krigen. Hvis jihadistene i Aleppo ikke lenger kan få forsyninger inn fra Tyrkia, er de langt på vei dømt til å tape.