The Syrian military operation to recapture rebel-held east Aleppo is in its final stages after the army took Sheikh Saeed and other districts, Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the Aleppo security committee, said on Monday.

"The battle in east Aleppo should end quickly. They (rebels) don't have much time. They either have to surrender or die," he told a group of reporters in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed district.