Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes have mounted an operation to liberate towns north of the western city of Homs from the grips of foreign-backed militants.

According to Syrian state television, the offensive kicked off on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Russian air raids struck targets around the town of Talbiseh and the villages of Teir Malla, Dar Kabira and Khalidiya, a few miles north of Homs.

The development comes a day after Syrian army troops managed to gain control over a number of areas in the Jobar district, which lies two kilometers (1.2 miles) northeast of the capital, Damascus.

The troops also killed a large number of Takfiri terrorists in their operations across the Arab country.

Syrian army units liberated the area of Foru, located to the north of the west-central city of Hama, and killed dozens of terrorists and injured many others.

Russia started its military campaign against terrorists in Syria on September 30 upon a request by the government in Damascus, shortly after Russia’s upper house of parliament granted President Vladimir Putin authorization to use military force in the crisis-hit country.

The foreign-backed conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has so far claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the United Nations.