Russia: Syrian Government Controls 85% of the Country

Russian soldiers have announced that the Syrian army has liberated about 85% of the territory of the war-torn country from extremists, CNN reported.

Lieutenant General Alexander Lapin told reporters at the Khomeyim Russian Air Force Base near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia that the Syrian government still had to clear out the remaining 15 percent of areas in the country controlled by extremities, 27 thousand square kilometers.

Russia has provided air support since 2015 for the offensive of President Bashar al-Assad's forces against various opposition and extremist groups, including the Islamic State, with Russian support altering the course of the war. Syrian troops, coupled with the strong support of Iran-backed militants, have expelled ISIS terrorists from central Homs province near the border with Lebanon in recent weeks, and are now fighting with them in the oil-rich province of Dear Lake Zor in the eastern part of the country .