Rebel fighters gather near the front line in Ratain village, north of Aleppo on February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army started an offensive there, a monitoring group said today.
The Syrian army, backed by allied militia, had captured areas north of Aleppo on Tuesday in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said was an attempt to cut off insurgent supply lines to Syria's second city.
Aleppo is at the forefront of clashes between government forces and a range of insurgents, including Islamist brigades, al Qaeda's hardline Syria wing Nusra Front and Western-backed units.
© Thomson Reuters 2015