Islamic militants and rebels in Syria launched fresh attacks on government-held neighbourhoods in Aleppo on Friday, setting off some of the heaviest fighting in months in the contested northern city, activists and state media said.
The fighting is part of a new coordinated offensive in Aleppo by a newly-formed coalition between al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the ultra-conservative Ahrar al-Sham group, and other rebels. The groups said they seek to “liberate” Aleppo under their coalition called Ansar al-Sharia.
A former industrial and commercial hub, Aleppo has been carved up between government and rebel-held neighbourhoods since 2012. With the city devastated by three years of fighting, many of its residents have long fled.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacks started early on Thursday with concentrated rocket attacks targeting the government-held Zahra neighborhood in western Aleppo, where some of the Syrian army’s key military installations are located.
The government struck back with a series of airstrikes and shelling that killed at least 35 militants. — AP
