Fighting between Syrian regime forces and militants linked to the Al Qaeda continues leaving more than 70 dead south of the battle-front city Allepo, a Monitor group has reported.
According the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Al-Nusra Front the Al Qaeda officaila branch in Syria seized Khan Tuman and surrounding villages after less than 24 hours of clashes with Syrian army.
The British-based Observatory report 43 Al-Nusra and allied fighters whom included a local commander were killed in the battle.
The Syrian army has also lost a number of soldiers in the battlefield.
In December 2015, the pro-regime army managed to drive the jihadists out of Khan Tuman, located some 10 kilometres (six miles) southwest of Aleppo.
"The recapture of the area and surrounding villages means that the regime's lines of defence south of the country's second city have been pushed back," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Barely 48-hours of truce in Aleppo between the regime and non-jihadist rebels appeared to be largely holding until the army clashed with the Islamist militants.
