Syrian forces have recaptured a northern military air base that had been besieged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since 2013, Syria state media and a monitoring group have reported.
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The army units broke the siege on the military airbase, which was laid by the IS militants and other rebel groups in the eastern countryside of the northern province of Aleppo, Xinhua news agency reported. The base, which opens up routes for offensives against Raqqa and Aleppo, had been encircled for almost two years.
Meanwhile, the state-run TV said large numbers of the IS militants were killed.
The blasts hit two separate areas of the city, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. With numerous wounded in serious condition, the death toll is expected to rise, the Observatory said.
Latakia is home to the ancestral village of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and has been targeted by rocket attacks several times.
State television said the Syrian army was able to reach and meet with troops who have been defending the Kweires military base against an ISIS siege since 2013.
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Areas around Aleppo have seen weeks of heavy fighting after Syrian troops, backed by Lebanese and Iranian fighters, launched an offensive to retake surrounding territory from rebels and jihadist fighters.
