Syrian President Bashar Assad said that he is "prepared to negotiate everything" with his country's rebels during planned talks later this month in Kazakhstan.

In remarks published on Monday, Assad is seeking to paint himself as a peacemaker after his government forces recaptured the city of Aleppo from rebel control last month.

Like Us on Facebook

Speaking to reporters at his Damascus palace, Assad defended his army's lethal bombardment of Eastern Aleppo, saying the alternative would have been to leave the city's inhabitants at the mercy of "terrorists." Assad's government used the term "terrorists" for all the country's rebels.

Assad also expressed his skepticism of the credibility of Syrian opposition groups backed by Saudi Arabia and the west. However, the talks, which have been brokered by Russia and Turkey, are still clouded by doubt as Syrian rebels are yet to confirm whether they will attend.

Opposition groups insisted that Assad's departure from the country's leadership is a precondition for any reforms. Assad, on the other hand, argued that the issue can only be resolved through a constitutional referendum.

Meanwhile, activists in Syria reported what appeared to be a US Special Forces raid on Islamic State hideouts in the country.

According to Omar Abou Leila, four helicopters landed in the desert between the Islamic State-held cities of Deir el-Zour and Raqqa on Saturday. Commandos set up checkpoints and intercepted a car carrying several IS militants, killing them, and flying off with the bodies.

"It's an operation that apparently targeted an important figure," Abou Leila, who runs Deir Ezzor 24, told journalists from Germany, where he resides. Deir Ezzor 24 is one of the several locally staffed underground groups that report from IS-held territory.

Another activist group based in Britain, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 25 Islamic State fighters were killed in the ambush. According to local witnesses, some of the commandos spoke Arabic. The US-led coalition is yet to comment on the matter.

TagsSyria, Bashar al-Assad, Aleppo