Damascus, Nov 28 (IANS): The Syrian army on Thursday cut off the Damascus-Aleppo road near the northern city of Aleppo as its troops engaged in combat with rebel groups that had launched a massive offensive in the western countryside of Aleppo on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

The pro-government Sham FM radio reported that the army temporarily closed the road to Aleppo for public safety as its troops continued to confront a large-scale rebel offensive in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib provinces in northern Syria for the second consecutive day on Thursday.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group and allied factions opened new fronts in the countryside of Idlib on Thursday.

The General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces said in a statement that militant groups had carried out assaults targeting villages, towns, and military positions using medium and heavy weapons.

"Our armed forces confronted the ongoing terrorist attack, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment," the statement said. "Our units continue to engage the terrorist organizations with various firepower, in cooperation with friendly forces," it added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that at least 153 combatants have been killed since the clashes began at dawn on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The dead include 80 HTS fighters, 19 from allied rebel factions of the so-called National Army, and 54 Syrian government soldiers, including at least four officers.

The Observatory also noted that HTS forces had captured several government soldiers during the battles.

HTS is designated as a terrorist organization by Syria, Russia, the United States, and several other countries.