Strikes kill 13 in Aleppo

BEIRUT: At least 13 people, including nine children, were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held east of Aleppo on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The Britain-based group said it was unclear if the raids on the Marjeh district were carried out by aircraft belonging to the Syrian government or its ally Russia.

The latest civilian deaths come as rebels press an assault intended to break a government siege of opposition-held Aleppo that began on July 17 and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis. In an audio message released on Friday, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of Al-Qaeda’s former affiliate in Syria, pledged that the operation would soon succeed.

The rebel assault started on Sunday and is targeting the Ramussa district that contains the main supply route to the government-held west of the city.

After some initial rebel advances, government forces backed by Russian air strikes have pushed back opposition fighters who include jihadists from Jolani’s faction, now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.