Insurgents breach Syria’s second-largest city in a bid to reignite long-simmering war

BEIRUT — Islamist rebels breached neighborhoods in Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo and clashed with government military forces after detonating two car bombs Friday.

BEIRUT — Islamist rebels breached neighborhoods in Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo and clashed with government military forces after detonating two car bombs Friday. The incident, reported by a leading war monitoring group and The Associated Press, has renewed international attention on a country wracked by civil war and extremism for more than a decade.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, the monitoring organization, said fierce clashes were underway between the attacking insurgents and regime troops. The fighting is a significant escalation since rebels launched a surprise offensive Wednesday, seizing towns and villages as they advanced toward Aleppo.

The breach marked the first time opposition forces besieged the city since 2016, when they were driven out of Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods during a military operation in which Syrian troops were supported by Russia and Iran. Four years ago, a ceasefire brought an end to the most intense violence, but the new push from rebels has upended a period of relative calm.

Fighters enter the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on their motorbikes with smoke billowing in the background during fighting on Nov. 29, 2024.Bakr Alkasem / AFP - Getty ImagesThe rebels appear to have gained momentum by the diminished strength of Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah throughout the region, illustrating how the conflicts in the Middle East feed off one another.Witnesses who spoke to The Associated Press said Aleppo residents were fleeing from areas on the western edge amid missiles and exchanges of gunfire. The AP said an insurgent commander posted a recorded message on social media urging the city’s residents to cooperate with the rebels. The rebels are led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.

Syrian armed forces were repelling attacks, the Syrian Defense ministry said Friday, adding government forces involved in combat operations were able to regain control over some areas.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syrian-insurgents-breach-aleppo-rcna182221

---