Aleppo: Dreaded Takfiri-terrorist groups reached Syria’s second city of Aleppo Friday, as they pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian and Russian-backed government.
The fighting is some of the deadliest in years, with 255 people killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Most of the dead have been combatants but the toll also includes 24 civilians.
The offensive began on Wednesday, the same day that a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighboring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
‘Zionist plot’
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has vowed to support Syria in its fight against terrorists after the resurgence of Takfiri terrorism in the Arab country.
“The new movements of Takfiri-terrorist groups are part of the plot of the US and the illegitimate Zionist regime,” Qalibaf said on Friday in a post on his X account.
He urged the neighbors of Syria “to be vigilant and not to fall into their trap.”
“After defeating the Zionist regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the axis of resistance will support the Syrian government and people against the new conspiracy like in the past,” Qalibaf stressed.
Captured 50 towns
By Friday, the terrorists had wrested control of more than 50 towns and villages in the north, according to the Britain-based Observatory, in the government’s biggest loss of territory in years.
They then entered western districts of Aleppo, a city of some two million people that was Syria’s pre-war manufacturing hub.
“Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions... were able to enter the outskirts of the Al-Hamdaniya and New Aleppo neighborhoods... after carrying out twin suicide attacks with two booby-trapped cars,” the war monitor said.
HTS, a dreaded terror alliance led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria branch, shelled a student residence in the city, killing four civilians, state media reported.
Syrian and Russian warplanes launched intense air strikes on the rebel enclave around Idlib, where the militants are based, carrying out 23 raids, according to the Observatory.
Army reinforcements have arrived in Aleppo, a Syrian security official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
An army statement said troops had repelled the assault on the city and retaken some positions.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said “more than 14,000 people — nearly half are children — have been displaced” by the violence.
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