SYRIAN government troops have driven Isis out of dozens of settlements and 100 square miles of territory north-east of Aleppo in the past three weeks, the army said yesterday.

The armed forces’ general command said the offensive launched 20 days before, with support from the government’s foreign allies, had freed “more than 32 towns and farms with a total area of 250 square kilometres with a 25km front and a depth of 16km, establishing control over Aleppo to al-Bab highway with a length of 16km.”

On Wednesday night, Isis tried to storm the village of Rasm al-Sarhan, east of Kweires air base and south of al-Bab.

The defending soldiers briefly withdrew before launching a successful counterattack, inflicting heavy casualties on the death cult’s fighters.

The Isis-held town of al-Bab is under heavy attack from the invading Turkish army and its jihadist allies among the myriad factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

But they have struggled to gain ground against Isis, suffering heavy losses in personnel and tanks and several tactical reversals.

The Syrian army’s advance puts it in control of a line of hills north-east of Aleppo, the country’s largest city and its industrial and financial capital.

But the move forward also brings troops within shooting distance of the Turkish and FSA forces.

Meanwhile, in the Isisbesieged eastern city of Deir Ezzor, troops beat back another extremist attack on the lifeline airport, which is cut off from the rest of the city.

The army is making slow but steady progress in breaking through to the airport.