The Syrian army continued its operations against the terrorist groups in the Northern parts of the country and regained control over many strategic areas in there.

The army regained full control of Al-Ameriya town in Aleppo countryside that was previously the stronghold of the terrorist groups.

The army units also destroyed the gathering centers of the terrorists in Al-Sokra, Al-Ashrafiya, Tal Al-Zarazir, Al-Mashhad, Al-Ramoussa, Al-Sheikh Saeed, Al-Marjeh, Al-Zorbeh and Al-Lirmoun in Aleppo and its countryside.

Meantime, the army units repelled an attempt by the terrorist groups to attack the army's positions in Seifat region.

Military analysts believe that the ground has now been paved for the Syrian army troops' major advances in large parts of Aleppo countryside.

Also in the past 24 hours, at least 100 terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group were killed in fighting for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobani.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths brought the total number of ISIL fighters killed in the ground battle for Kobani to 576 since clashes there began on September 16.

Meantime, Syria's Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun underlined that the Turkish intelligence service is supporting the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

"Ankara has complete information about the terrorist groups, including ISIL," Sheikh Hassoun said.

He noted that the Turkish intelligence is also well aware of the whereabouts of all the foreign citizens abducted by ISIL.

The Syrian grand mufti pointed to the abduction and execution of the Russian citizen Sergei Gorbunov, and said, "The Syrian government has nothing to do with it. Russia could directly ask Turkey as the Turkish intelligence holds information in this regard."

He reiterated that the Turkish government is in touch with the ISIL and other militant groups, and thus they could figure it out.

The grand mufti noted that the executions of the US citizens by the ISIL were carried out with Ankara's knowledge.

Also, the Syrian envoy to the UN criticized the world body’s double standards on the fight against terrorism, stressing that terror threats cannot be dealt with through a selective approach.

In a statement, Bashar al-Ja’afari slammed Turkey’s approach to the Syria crisis, adding that the UN would not be able to counter terrorism while turning a blind eye to the "wrong policies" adopted by Ankara on the situation in the violence-torn Arab country.

There should be "no selectivity" in combating terrorism, said the senior Syrian diplomat after a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the deadly turmoil in his country.

Ja’afari added that Turkey is violating the UN Charter and the principles of international law by meddling in Syria’s internal affairs and allowing Takfiri terrorists to cross the border in the neighboring Arab state.

"It can’t be denied that the Turkish policy is one of the causes of increasing the violence in Syria through facilitating the flow of the ISIL and al-Nusra Front terrorists into the Syrian territories," he added.

Also, tens of thousands of Kurds rallied in Turkish cities in solidarity with the embattled Syrian city of Kobani.

In Diyarbakir, in the heart of the Kurdish region in Turkey's Southeast, protesters marched peacefully, chanting, "Long live the struggle for Kobani."

The assault on Kobani has largely emptied the city that was once home to hundreds of thousands.

In villages along Turkey's border with Syria Kurds, including refugees from Kobani, marched within eyeshot of their former home.

One demonstrator, Fatima Muslim said, "I came to show my support for my people and for the blood of our people".

The 55-year-old added, "We've lost everything. They blew up our houses. And now we are in a refugee camp."
 

News ID 187329