DAMASCUS - The Syrian government forces have captured 13 villages and towns in the northern and northwestern countryside of Aleppo Province in northern Syria over the past 24 hours, a war monitor reported Sunday.

With this progress, the Syrian forces are close to fully securing the vicinity of the provincial capital of Aleppo from the repeated shelling of the rebel groups, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog said only the areas of Andan, Hraitan and Kafr Hamra in Aleppo city are not fully secured by the army.

The Syrian army is making strides in the battles against the rebel groups in the countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria, just days after the army managed to secure the main Damascus-Aleppo highway.

Capturing the highway is a strategic win for the Syrian army as the road is linking Aleppo, the industrial capital of Syria, with the political capital Damascus.