Rebels have thwarted a surprise regime attack in the northern countryside of Aleppo, taking full control of Tal Mallah district and killing 150 pro-regime fighters, a rebel commander said in a video statement.
The Assad army, backed by allied militia, captured several villages north of Aleppo from insurgents on Tuesday, blocking a main supply route into the city amid heavy fighting, Reuters said.
The regime’s surprise attack enabled his forces to make gains in the early hours, but reinforcements from the Shamiya Front rebel group flooded to the north of Aleppo, foiling the regime attack on the villages of Herdtnain, Ratian and Bashkoy in the northern countryside.
Footage posted online by rebels shows dozens of slain soldiers who were killed in the Tal Mallah district.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government forces had blocked a road leading north from the city towards the Turkish border while heavy clashes continued.
