At least four people have been killed as rebel groups launched attacks on Aleppo for the first time in years, Syrian state media reported, as the rebel forces ramped up their assault on government-held positions in the country’s northwest.The rebels launched a ground attack on the city of Aleppo after blowing up two car bombs on Friday, and were clashing with government forces on the city’s western edge, according to a Syria war monitor and fighters.
The Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported that the armed groups had entered Aleppo city centre, without providing further details.
The Syrian army said on Friday it repelled a major offensive on the city.
“Our forces continue to repel the major offensive launched by armed terrorist groups,” the army said in a statement, adding that it was “able to retake control of certain positions”.
Fighters drive their vehicle on the international M5 highway in the Zarbah area which was taken over by rebel fighters on November 29, 2024 [Rami al Sayed/AFP]
Earlier, four civilians including two students were killed when rebel groups shelled a building housing university students on Friday, the state news agency SANA reported.
Rebels led by the Hay’et Tahrir al-Shams armed group on Wednesday launched an offensive, capturing a dozen towns and villages in the northwestern province of Aleppo.
The assault is the most intense fighting in northwestern Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previous …
