"The Syrian army liberated the villages of Madaya and Tal al-Arjahi in the south of the Idlib province," the military official said, adding that a total of seven square kilometers (2.7 square miles) had been liberated on Thursday.

The military official noted that the liberation followed violent clashes between the military and the militants of the Jabhat Nusra terror group (banned in Russia) during which several militants had been killed and a lot of pieces of military equipment had been seized.

Idlib has been the area where Jabhat Nusra terrorists and other militants have been active.

In early August, the long-discussed truce in Idlib entered into force. However, the leadership of the Syrian Armed Forces said it would stop military actions if Turkey had not implemented its obligations under the Moscow-Ankara deal reached in Russia's Sochi last September.
The truce deal stipulates the withdrawal of medium and heavy weapons from the contact line in the area.

However, the Syrian government forces subsequently renewed its activities in the northwest of the country due to the militants’ non-compliance with the agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey.