Syrian rebels have launched their first major offensive in the country in four years, claiming to have beaten government forces back several miles and captured a dozen villages west of Aleppo.
The offensive led by jihadists from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies has reignited a conflict where front lines have been largely stagnant since 2020.
By the end of the first day of fighting, the rebel push was around four miles from Aleppo. The group said it had captured a significant army base.
Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government and its Russian backers retaliated with air strikes in the newly captured territory and against other rebel-held areas.
After 24 hours, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 130 combatants had been killed in the worst fighting in the country’s north west in years.
The toll included 65 HTS fighters, 18 from allied factions “and 49 members of regime forces”.