Aleppo

The leader of Syria's most powerful insurgent group toured the seized city of Aleppo on Wednesday in a surprise visit the first since the group captured large parts of the city over the weekend as fierce fighting intensifies in the government-led counter-offensive in northern Hama. Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, greeted crowds of supporters near the city's iconic citadel as he smiled and waved in dark green military garb. Surrounded by masked gunmen in flak jackets, men and boys chanted God is great as he walked through the heart of Syria's largest city. The sudden capture of Aleppo, also an ancient business hub, was a stunning prize for Syrian opponents of President Bashar Assad. It was the first opposition attack on the city since 2016, when a brutal Russian air campaign retook the northwestern city for Assad after rebel forces had initially seized it. Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied militant Hezbollah and other groups has

A building collapsed in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, killing at least nine people, including three children, the Syrian state television reported. The TV said the illegally built, five-story building in Aleppo's southern neighbourhood of Fardous collapsed in the evening on Wednesday. It said five women, three children and an elderly man were killed. The report also said two people were injured and seven nearby buildings were evacuated for fear they might collapse as well. Search operations were still ongoing amid the rubble in case more people might be buried under the debris. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known. Fardous was a rebel-held neighbourhood until December 2016, when government forces with the help of Russia and Iran captured eastern parts of the city, which had been held by insurgents for four years. Many buildings in Aleppo were completely destroyed or damaged during Syria's 11-year conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half

Israel launched a missile attack on Tuesday targeting the airport in the Syrian city of Aleppo for the second time in a week, this time putting it out of commission, Syrian state media said. The Syrian government did not report any casualties. State media, citing a military source, reported that Syrian anti-missile defense systems fired back at what they said were Israeli missiles. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, the airstrikes also destroyed warehouses belonging to Iran-backed militias. Israel launched airstrikes at Aleppo airport last week, damaging its runway and, according to the war monitor, a warehouse that likely stored a shipment of Iranian rockets. Syria's foreign minister last week said the attack completely destroyed the navigation station with its equipment. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses su

Israel launched a missile attack on Wednesday targeting the airport in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Syrian state media said, citing a military source. The Syrian government did not report any casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, said in a statement that Israel fired four missiles targeting a runway at the Aleppo International Airport and warehouses surrounding it. The group claimed that the warehouses likely contained a shipment of Iranian rockets. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria over recent past years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. The Israeli military declined to comment on the airstrike targeting Aleppo's airport. Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces. On Sunday, Israel launch

French FM Jean Yves Le Drian said "Mariupol is the new Aleppo", as he compared the largest Syrian city that witnessed some of the worst fighting to the besieged Ukrainian port city

Israel carried out an aerial attack southeast of Syria's northern Aleppo province late Monday, a Syrian military official said

It singled out egregious attack in which Syrian warplanes targeted humanitarian aid convoy

Syrian troops this week retook control of eastern Aleppo held by rebel groups since mid-2012

Syrian army declared the restoration of security and stability to all of Aleppo city

Families have been sheltering during the night in freezing temperatures in bombed out apartment blocks

US Ambassador Samantha Power has blamed Syria, Russia and Iran for atrocities committed against civilians in Aleppo

It was postponed until further notice after gunmen attacked buses for a similar operation from two rebel-besieged villages

Russia had threatened to veto a first draft presented by France calling for observers to monitor evacuations from Aleppo

Thousands of civilians and rebels had begun leaving Aleppo on Thursday under an evacuation deal

Syrian govt wants village evacuations and the one in eastern Aleppo to be simultaneous, rebels say there's no connection

Obama condemned the situation, harshly accusing the Syrian regime, along with Moscow and Tehran, of slaughtering civilians in Aleppo

The evacuations seal the end of the Syrian rebels' most important stronghold, the eastern part of the city of Aleppo

State television said rebel rocket fire on government-controlled areas had killed at least seven people

Rebel forces announced a new deal late on Wednesday to allow residents to be evacuated from the city

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, is now close to taking back full control of Aleppo