Syrian rebels and their allies cut off key highway as escalating violence kills around 200
Syrian jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and their allied factions cut access on Thursday to the key highway linking Damascus to Aleppo as part of an offensive that has led to the deaths of nearly 200 people, including civilians. A day earlier, the rebels had launched a surprise attack on government-held areas of northern Aleppo, triggering the fiercest fighting seen in five years, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Jihadist fighters cut the Damascus to Aleppo highway on Thursday during an offensive that a monitor says killed around 200, including civilians hit by Russian air force strikes.
A day earlier, jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a surprise attack on government-held areas of northern Aleppo province, triggering the fiercest fighting in years, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The toll in ongoing battles "has risen to 182, including 102 fighters from HTS", 19 from allied factions "and 61 regime forces and allied groups", said the Observatory.
"Russian air strikes on the Aleppo countryside killed 19 civilians on Thursday," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Observatory, adding that another civilian had been killed in Syrian army shelling a day earlier.
"The highway has now been put out of service, after it was reopened by regime forces years ago," said the monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
(AFP)
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