Roundup: Syrian troops launch offensive to seize rebels-held areas

The Syrian troops launched on Tuesday a wide-scale operation in the northern countryside of Aleppo in a bid to complete a siege on rebels-held areas in the eastern part of the province, local media reported.

The forces stormed the towns of Bashkoi, Hardtain and Ritian in the northern Aleppo, following intense clashes with the rebels.

The broad offensive by the Syrian troops would contribute to breaking the rebels' siege on the pro-government towns of Nubul and Zahra in the northern countryside of Aleppo, according to the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

The report said that the clashes have intensified on all fronts of Aleppo, pointing out that the army also opened the front of Shihan Factories, which is the last step to complete the siege on the rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo.

The army also opened the front of the Jamiyet al-Zahra, capturing many buildings and positions and also advanced in the al-Rashidien area, said the report, adding that "very intense" clashes are currently raging in the districts of Amiriyeh and the old city of Aleppo.

Al-Mayadeen said the rebels in jihadist groups in Aleppo have declared the "general mobilization" among their ranks to confront the huge attack.

Meanwhile, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight people were killed, including a woman and a child, on Tuesday by a fresh mortar shelling by the rebels against government-controlled areas in Aleppo.

The mortar attack targeted the districts of Mukambo, Aziziyeh, Hamadaniyeh, al-Nile and Tishreen areas in the government-controlled western part of Aleppo. The attack led to the injury of 30 people, some of whom in critical conditions.

The mortar shelling is the latest in an endless series of shelling targeting civilians in Aleppo, once called the economic capital of Syria.

Meanwhile, the Observatory also reported that intense clashes are still incessant between an array of jihadist groups, including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, and the Syrian troops backed by Shiite militants, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

The watchdog, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said the rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo are witnessing violent shelling by the government troops.

Analysts believe that the broad offensive by the Syrian army aimed at dislodging the rebels from key areas and besieging them in the eastern part of Aleppo, as the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is expected to convey to the UN Security Council Damascus' stance towards the "freeze battle" plan in Aleppo.

Mistura visited Damascus last week and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian state media said the talks touched upon "new ideas" Mistura put forward to prop up his "freeze battle" plan.

The state media also said the meeting was positive and constructive, spelling no further details.

However, the Lebanese al-Diyar newspaper, which is close to the Syrian government, said that Mistura is going to convey to the Security Council Assad's approval of the "freeze battle" plan, which, analysts said, could explain the wide-scale offensive in Aleppo to draw lines ahead of the possible implementation of the plan. Endit