Syrian rebels launch surprise advance on Aleppo

Syrian army says forces repelling major offensive by militant groups

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  Anti-government fighters brandish their guns as they ride a vehicle in Syria's northern city of Aleppo. AFP

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  Alleged Syrian army soldiers and allied fighters sit on the floor after being captured by opposition fighters in Aleppo. AP

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  Syrian opposition fighters tear up a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in central Aleppo. EPA

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  Anti-government fighters pose for a picture on a tank on the road leading to Maaret Al Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. AFP

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  Opposition fighters patrol the streets after taking control of the city of Maarat Al Numan where the international road M5 passes through it. EPA

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  Opposition fighters in Aleppo. EPA

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  Opposition fighters pray in Aleppo. EPA

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  Insurgents hold a position outside Aleppo, Syria. AP

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  An empty street in Aleppo after militants entered the city. AFP

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  Anti-government fighters prepare for battle in the northern Syrian city of Idlib. AFP

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  Militants set alight a poster of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in front of a building they seized in the district of Zarbah. AFP

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  Militants hold a position on the outskirts of Aleppo. AFP

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  Fighters enter the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on motorcycles with smoke billowing in the background amid fighting. AFP

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  Militants drive through the village of Talhiyah. AFP

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  Fighters fire towards Syrian Army troops in the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on Friday as militants continue their offensive against government forces. AFP

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  Anti-regime fighters hold a position on the outskirts of Aleppo. AFP

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  Smoke rises during clashes in Aleppo. AFP

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  Anti-regime fighters on the outskirts of Aleppo. AFP

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  A damaged vehicle belonging to Syrian government troops in the countryside near Aleppo. AFP

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  Fighters seize a Syrian Army tank on the international M5 highway in the Zarbah area, south-west of Aleppo city. AFP

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  Insurgents on the M5 highway in the Zarbah area. AFP

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  Fighters drive along the M5 highway in the Zarbah area. AFP

Insurgents launched a surprise advance on Syria’s Aleppo city and clashed with government forces, a war monitor and some fighters have said. Syria's army said its forces were repelling a major offensive by militant groups in the city.

The militants claimed they were in control of Aleppo and online videos would apparently support the claim that some fighters are there.

Sana, Syria’s official news agency, reported “terrorist groups filmed scenes in a number of Aleppo neighbourhoods to suggest that terrorist groups took control” of them. Sana also reported Russian air strikes had killed 200 of the rebel fighters.

Insurgents have been approaching Aleppo city for days and have seized several towns and villages along the way in the worst fighting in Syria's 13-year civil war since 2020. Hundreds have been killed in the shock offensive.

By early Saturday, the situation remained fluid, with claim and counter-claim by competing interests adding to the uncertainty for residents.

Rebel fighters set fire to a picture of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in an area seized by insurgents in Zarbah, northern Syria. AFP

The militant group Hayat Tahrir, formerly linked to Al Qaeda, launched a number of surprise raids this week, using one-way attack drones, tanks and artillery, surging across Aleppo’s countryside to the city’s suburbs.

“Our forces have succeeded in regaining control over some points that witnessed violations during the past hours and will continue their combat operations until they are pushed back,” the army said in a statement about the fighting under way in the Aleppo and Idlib countryside.

“Our armed forces were able to inflict heavy losses on the attacking organisations, killing and wounding hundreds of terrorists.”

Syrian rebels claimed to have breached Aleppo city, fighters and a war monitor said on Friday afternoon. The Syrian army said the groups were publishing “misleading information” on various platforms online, which it said was “aimed at terrorising citizens”.

The last time the city of Aleppo was attacked was in 2016 when a brutal military campaign was carried out by the Syrian government, backed by Russia and Iran.

Violent clashes were under way between government forces on one side and the militant group Hayat Tahrir with its allied factions on the other, UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Telegram channels affiliated to Hayat Tahrir said it had reached Aleppo and was “continuing to advance” on Friday.

Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander in the Jaish Al Izza rebel brigade, said the speedy advance was helped by insufficient Iran-backed manpower in the wider province.

Syria's Armed Forces vowed to repel the attack and said it had destroyed several enemy drones as well as weaponry. Syrian state media had reported earlier on Friday that projectiles launched by the insurgents had landed in student accommodation at the University of Aleppo, killing four people, including two students.

Hayat Tahrir was advancing alongside a number of allied groups in a joint operations command structure led by its commander Abu Mohammad Al Jowlani. Lt Col Hassan Abdul Ghani, another Hayat Tahrir commander, told The National the operations called "Deter the Aggression" had been launched with the goal of taking areas controlled by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and foreign militia allies.

Rebel operations were launched after a series of attacks on civilians, he said, alongside the alleged build-up of Iran-backed militias on fronts in Idlib between Assad-controlled territory and rebel-held areas. He added that insurgents had captured 45 towns and villages so far.

Hayat Tahrir and allied groups continue to advance. AFP

Hundreds are thought to have been killed in fighting since Wednesday but the death toll is unknown as the rebels continue to advance.

Russia, Mr Al Assad's main backer throughout the civil war, said it wanted the government to restore order in the Aleppo region as soon as possible. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday said Moscow viewed the attacks as a breach of Syrian sovereignty.

The Russian military said its air force was bombing anti-government forces in an operation to repel “extremists”, Russian state news agencies reported.

“The Russian air force is carrying out rocket-bomb attacks on the equipment and manpower of illegal armed groups, control points, warehouses and artillery positions of terrorists,” news outlets cited a representative of the Defence Ministry's Reconciliation Centre for Syria as saying.

Sana, the official Syrian news agency, reported that more than 200 rebel fighters have been killed. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the attack on the US and Israel, calling it a “US-Zionist plan following the Zionist regime's defeat in Lebanon and Palestine”, state media reported. During a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Mr Araghchi reaffirmed Tehran's support.

Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have been instrumental in boosting Syrian government forces throughout the war. The latest escalation in violence in Aleppo comes after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The group has come under intense Israeli attacks in Syria and Lebanon, distracting it from the fight with Syrian insurgents. Turkey, which supports some rebel factions based in Aleppo, said it had previously warned of attacks on Idlib that rebels said had prompted the current assault.

“The clashes experienced in recent days have caused an undesirable increase in tension in the region,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said in a statement. “It is of great importance for Turkey to prevent new and greater instabilities and to prevent civilians from being harmed.”

Ankara also said it was “closely monitoring” what it said was an increase in attacks in parts of rural Aleppo by “terrorist groups trying to take advantage of the current instability” – seemingly a reference to Kurdish militias against which Ankara has led numerous military operations in Syria.

Turkey has this year launched efforts to resume relations with Mr Assad's government in Damascus, with little progress.