DAMASCUS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Hours after two statements were released by the Syrian government about the military operation in Idlib and Aleppo, the Syrian army started heavy shelling on rebel positions in the countryside of Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported.
The rebels in the western countryside of Aleppo are suffering a collapse in their ranks as a result of the shelling, said SANA.
Also, SANA said the army captured the village of Mar Shamsheh in the southern countryside of Idlib following intense battles against the rebels.
Earlier, the Syrian Army and the Syrian Foreign Ministry released statements, confirming that the army will go on with a crushing offensive against the rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in western Aleppo and the southern countryside of Idlib.
The Syrian army has been prioritizing capturing areas in Aleppo and Idlib as part of the effort to secure the entire road connecting the capital Damascus in the south with Aleppo in the north.
Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in the country and President Bashar al-Assad recently said that the government's priority is to counter terrorist groups in Idlib.
