Russian and Syrian jets bomb Aleppo as rebels reportedly capture half of city
Syrian rebels now control around half of Aleppo after their surprise offensive has left regime forces reeling.
Opposition fighters have advanced in and around Syria’s second-largest city, and now also claim to be in control of all of Idlib province.
Russian and Syrian jets have responded by bombing the rebels as they contend with the most serious challenge to President Bashar al Assad in many years.
Syria’s military says it has conducted a “temporary troop withdrawal” to prepare for a counteroffensive against “terrorists”.
Aleppo airport and a number of major roads have been closed, while thousands of cars were seen fleeing the city along a route that remains under government control.
The rebels, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, are said to be in control of around half of Aleppo – Syria’s second-largest city – according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Dozens of Syrian soldiers have been killed in fierce battles in Aleppo and Idlib in the past few days, the, military has said.
Russia, one of President Bashar al Assad’s key allies, has promised Damascus extra military aid to thwart the rebels, two military sources told Reuters news agency.
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The group is said to be in control of around half of Aleppo, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
The sources added that the Syrian army had been told to follow “safe withdrawal” orders from the main areas of the city that the rebels have entered.
“Relentless attacks” over the past three days in northwestern Syria have killed 27 civilians, including eight children, a UN official said.
And they have now returned to the Aleppo for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran, and regional Shi’ite militias retook it.
The opposition fighters have said the campaign is in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas in rebel-held Idlib.
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Pic: AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey, which supports the rebels, had given a green light to the attacks.
However, Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said on Friday that Turkey sought to avoid greater instability in the region and had warned recent attacks undermined de-escalation agreements.
Insurgents have posted videos online showing themselves using drones in their advance for the first time. It is not clear to what extent they were used on the battlefield.
Videos geolocated by Sky News show armoured vehicles on the fringes of Aleppo and rebels celebrating at its western entrance.
Another shows a group of more than 10 men running through the streets. At least one of them appears to be armed.
The Syrian government has not commented on the rebels breaching the city limits.
A setback for the regime, or the start of a major escalation?
It had appeared to be a conflict frozen in time, but the operation launched with blistering speed by Syrian opposition fighters has turned all of that upside down.
It is also a potent reminder of the complexity of the Syrian conflict.
What was a stalemate has revealed that the regime of President Bashar al Assad may very well be standing on clay feet.
Whether the rebel push continues its momentum and transforms into a wider offensive remains to be seen – but its significance politically and militarily is immense.
This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media.
The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.
“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’
It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.
He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.
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There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.
It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.
His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.
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Trump: ‘I want an end, not a ceasefire’
This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.
Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.
These are truly tense and chaotic times.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
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