Syrian media reported the military and a local force had taken control of Mheen and Hawwarin towns, to the southeast of Homs city, and had killed a large number of ISIL militants, Reuters said.
The two towns lie to the east of the north-south highway running through Syria's major cities that is crucial to control of mainly government-held territory in the west of the country. They are also close to roads that link the ISIL-held city of Palmyra in the central Syrian desert to western cities.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syria's nearly five-year-old conflict using sources on the ground, said Syrian and Russian aircraft had carried out dozens of strikes on the areas surrounding Mheen and Hawwarin.
Russia started carrying out airstrikes in Syria nearly two months ago in support of the Syrian army and allied forces, after a request by President Bashar Assad.