Members of the Syrian army are pressing on with their efforts to take full control of neighborhoods captured by Jihadists in the past weeks in Western Aleppo. The Syrian army launched massive air strikes on positions belonging to the Jihadist group Jaish al-Fatih, who have been fighting fiercely to prevent government forces from regaining areas lost earlier this month. A rebel-official said that the Syrian army made advances in the various districts of western Aleppo on Saturday, reversing all the gains made by rebels two weeks into their counter-attack against government-held areas.
The counter-attack by Western-backed rebels, fighting alongside Al-Qaeda linked jihadists, targeting government-held western Aleppo was meant to break a government imposed siege on the eastern part of the city which is under rebel control. The rebels managed to make early advances, yet the offensive was repelled by the government and its allies over the weekend. Aleppo has become the most intense front in the war between President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran, Shi’ite militias and Russian air power, against mostly Sunni rebel groups and jihadists, some backed by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies.