Syrian rebel forces capture majority of Aleppo

Rebel forces in Syria have gained control of the "majority" of Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group.

Russia launched air raids in parts of Aleppo overnight into Saturday for the first time since 2016, the observers added.

SOHR said more than 300 people - including more than 20 civilians - have been killed since the offensive started on Wednesday, News.Az reports, citing BBC.

The offensive is the largest against the Syrian government in years and the first time rebels fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad have reached Aleppo since being forced out by the army in 2016.

Aleppo's airport and all roads leading into the city have been closed, military sources told Reuters news agency.

The rebels were able to capture the "majority of the city" without meeting significant resistance, the SOHR said early on Saturday.

There was "no fighting" as Syrian regime forces withdrew, a spokesperson told the BBC.

"The city council, police stations, intelligence offices - they are empty.

"This has never happened before."

Earlier on Friday, government forces said they had regained positions in a number of towns in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, following the offensive launched by HTS and allied factions on Wednesday.

More than half a million people have been killed in the civil war that erupted after the government cracked down on pro-democracy protests in 2011.

An array of armed groups opposed to the Assad government - including jihadists - took advantage of the turmoil to seize swathes of territory.

The Syrian government - with help from Russia and other allies - later retook most the areas it had lost.

News.Az