Rebel shelling kills 12 in Syria's Aleppo

At least 12 people were killed Saturday by a fresh rebel shelling on government-controlled areas in the country's northern city of Aleppo, the official SANA news agency reported.

The shelling by the Badr Martyrs Brigade comes a day after opposition activists said the Syrian army killed the militant groups' leader. The Badr group is known of being responsible for the bulk of the shelling against the government-controlled areas in the western part of Aleppo city.

SANA said the "terrorists" who fired the rockets were entrenched in the Bani Zaid neighborhood in eastern Aleppo. It added that three children were among the killed civilians.

The state news agency said Saturday the shelling came after seven people were killed by similar attack on Thursday.

Separately, SANA said the Syrian Special Forces carried out night raids against the extremist groups' positions in the Jisr al-Shughour city, which fell to the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front last month.

Many militants were killed during the overnight raids, said SANA.

Meanwhile, jihadist websites posted an online video, purporting to show the jihadist militants staging a blast at the National Hospital of Jisr al-Shughour, the last remaining position for the government troops inside the city.

The video showed a huge blast by a booby-trapped vehicle at the gates of the hospital, followed by the intrusion of a number of militants to the facility.

In southern region, SANA said the Syrian forces in the provinces of Daraa and Qunaitera pounded the rebel supply lines near Israel.

The Syrian army has recently been on the offensive after its troops lost considerable swathes of key areas to the extremist militants. Endit