Jihadists, allies enter Syrian government-held Aleppo: monitor

Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies reached the Syrian government-held city of Aleppo Friday, a war monitor said, days after launching a major offensive in the country’s north and northwest.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions “are now in the southwestern and western neighbourhoods of Aleppo city”, said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Two Aleppo residents told AFP they saw gunmen in their neighbourhoods, as panic gripped Syria’s second city.