Syria, Russia up airstrikes in rebel-held Aleppo as Iran-backed militias move in to help Assad

The Syrian army has upped its airstrikes on Monday against the rebel forces that took Aleppo, with Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossing the border to aid President Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to local reports.

Assad’s army unleashed a slew of new strikes in and around Syria’s largest city, as well as the city of Idlib, in a joint attack with Russian forces in an effort to decimate the rebels who took the territories last week, Syrian state news agency SANA reports.

The blasts killed at least five civilians and injured another 30, according to White Helmets, a humanitarian group based in Syria that reported similar figures during Sunday’s airstrikes.

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Syria upped its airstrikes in Aleppo on Monday to take out the rebel forces that took over the city.

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Smoke billows in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, as rebels fight the government’s office.

Along with Moscow, Assad is being backed by his allies in Tehran, with Iraqi militias crossing the border to join the army’s fight in Aleppo, sources told Reuters.

At least 300 fighters from the Badr and Nujabaa groups crossed into Syra late Sunday in small groups to avoid detection as Tehran pledge to support the Syrian strongman.

“These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north,” a senior Syrian military source said about the 300 fighters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed Tehran’s stance, telling reporters Monday that while Syria was more than equipped to deal with the rebels, Iran would “provide any support needed.”

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Anti-government fighters pose with a tank in Idlib, another city taken over by rebel fighters.

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Syrian civilians are fleeing northern cities following the rebels’ uprising last week.

Both Russia and Iran have long-backed Assad’s government, but their own regional conflicts created any opening for the Syrian rebels to strike last Thursdays, seizing large amounts of territory for the first time since the 2020 cease-fire agreement.

The rebel group claims its attacks were in direct response to the airstrikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces in southern Idlib.

The province was allegedly bombarded as a means to take out the jihadists, resulting in the death of dozens, military sources told Reuters.

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Syrian rebel fighters take a selfie after taking control of a military airport in Aleppo.

The insurgency, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terror group, which aims to impose fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria, took Aleppo and Idlib on Thursday, reigniting the civil war.

Assad has vowed to eliminate the terrorists and liberate the cities that were taken over in last week’s lightning offensive.

https://nypost.com/2024/12/02/world-news/syria-ups-airstrikes-in-aleppo-as-iran-back-militias-move-to-help-assad/