Russian and Syrian warplanes have targeted insurgents in an Aleppo suburb, according to Syrian military sources, after rebel fighters entered the heart of the city in a surprise attack on Friday.
The attack by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marks the most significant challenge in years to President Bashar al-Assad, reigniting tensions in the Syrian civil war that have largely been frozen since 2020.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in opposition-held parts of Syria, said in a post on X that Syrian government and Russian aircraft carried out airstrikes on residential neighbourhoods, a petrol station and a school in rebel-held Idlib, killing four civilians and wounding six others.
Russia, which deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to support Assad in the war, has promised Damascus extra military aid to thwart the rebels, which will start arriving in the next 72 hours, according to sources.
The insurgent force began its surprise offensive earlier this week, sweeping through government-held towns and reaching Aleppo nearly a decade after government forces backed by Russia and Iran drove rebels from the city.
Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport as well as all roads leading into the city on Saturday. The Syrian army has been told to follow “safe withdrawal” orders from the main areas of the city that the rebels have entered, the three military sources said.
On Friday, Syrian state television denied that rebels had reached the city and said Russia was providing Syria’s military with air support. The Syrian military said on Friday it was fighting back against the attack and had inflicted heavy losses on the insurgents in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.
Also speaking on Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow regarded the rebel attack as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty.
“We are in favour of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible,” he said.
The rebels began their incursion on Wednesday under the umbrella of an operations room, including groups backed by Turkey. On Friday, the operations room said its forces were sweeping through various neighbourhoods of Aleppo.
Assad recovered full control of Aleppo city from rebel forces in 2016, aided by Russian air power and Iranian-backed Shia militias, with the insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege.
Insurgents maintained a foothold near Aleppo in Idlib province and in areas north of the city at the Turkish border.