Russian-backed Syrian-Hizballah forces score major victories

The Syrian army and allies have gained two major victories in northern Syria, driving tens of thousands more refugees to the Turkish border. Fighting under Russian air cover are Syrian and Hizballah forces and the powerful Shiite Al-Bader Brigade militia, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Iraqi arm. Friday, they completed their encirclement of Aleppo, the Syrian rebels' power base for four years, after routing Turkish-backed rebel forces and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
This combined force also seized control of the Azaz Corridor, Aleppo’s outlet to the Turkish border, thereby cutting of the rebels’ supply lines from that city and the entire northern province of Idlib. The two victories represernt a major breakthrough for the Syrian army and its allies.