Insurgents breached Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo on Friday after detonating two car bombs, clashing with government forces on the western edge, according to a war monitor and fighters. It marks the first time opposition forces have attacked the city since 2016, when they were ousted from eastern neighborhoods in a campaign backed by Russia, Iran, and allied groups.
Witnesses reported residents fleeing western neighborhoods amid missiles and exchanges of fire. Syria’s Armed Forces confirmed clashes in the countryside around Aleppo and Idlib, destroying drones and heavy weapons, and vowed to repel the attack, accusing insurgents of spreading false information.
The offensive, launched Wednesday, has seen thousands of insurgents seize dozens of towns and villages. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the car bombs at the city’s western edge. Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said insurgents entered Aleppo city centre, breaking defence lines and now controlling approximately 70 locations in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
Syrian state media reported that projectiles killed four people, including two students, at Aleppo University. Public transport was diverted from the main highway to Damascus. The insurgents also advanced on Saraqab in Idlib, a strategic area for supply lines.
The advances are among the largest by opposition factions, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and represent the most intense fighting in northwestern Syria since 2020. The war monitor said dozens of fighters from both sides have been killed since Wednesday. Hezbollah, a key government ally, has been preoccupied with its own conflict with Israel, which escalated in recent months.
