ALEPPO, Syria
Syrian opposition forces on Friday gained control of strategic points in one of the regime-controlled neighborhoods of Aleppo, after launching an offensive in the region.
The operation includes a number of Syrian opposition forces, including the Damascus Front, Nusra Front and Ansar al-Sharia.
Fierce clashes took place between opposition and regime forces in the Jamiat al-Zahra region, local activist Mustafa Sultan told Anadolu Agency.
“A tank and many military vehicles belonging to regime forces were destroyed in the region,” Sultan said, adding that Syrian army warplanes had also attacked the area.
Rayid Yasir Abdurrahman, a commander of one of the opposition groups, stated that the regime had lost many soldiers in Jamiat al-Zahra and added that the opposition’s aim was to take full control of the city.
Syria has been gripped by violence since the Bashar al-Assad regime launched a crackdown in response to anti-government protests in March 2011, triggering a civil war in which more than 220,000 people have died.
