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DAMASCUS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army has become in control of 600 square kilometers after a week-long battles with the Islamic State (IS) group in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria, state news agency SANA reported on Saturday.
The military forces' achievements came as part of a wide-scale offensive launched recently to dislodge IS from the eastern countryside of Aleppo, with the aim of securing the eastern rim of Aleppo from IS threats.
Last week, the Syrian army called on people to return to their homes in villages and towns taken from IS in eastern Aleppo countryside, according to SANA.
In its statement, the general command of the Syrian army urged the civilians to return to their homes, pledging to cooperate and offer all possible facilitation and services for the returning of people to their villages and homes.
The Syrian army wrested full control over the entire city of Aleppo in December last year, poising for further military operations in the sprawling countryside of that key province, with the help of the Russian air force and the ground fighters of Hezbollah and other Shiite groups.
