Syrian and Russian warplanes have launched a wave of air strikes in northern Syria, killing dozens in areas held by a rebel alliance battling to take control of the city of Aleppo.
The air strikes, which began Saturday and continued Sunday, killed 45 civilians in and around Aleppo and 22 more in the neighboring Idlib province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The raids came as the Faylaq al-Sham Islamist faction, which is part of the rebel alliance, said it had launched a new offensive to take the Zahra regime-held district on Aleppo's western outskirts.
The Islamist group said a "military operation... to liberate Zahra has started".
The Britain-based Observatory and opposition fighters said a car bomb went off in the district Sunday, but did not mention casualties.
The monitoring group said the air strikes were targeting areas held by the Army of Conquest, an alliance of rebel, Islamist and jihadist forces that has mounted a major offensive to seize Aleppo. READ MORE
