1st: Syrian army says confronting major attack by jihadi groups in Aleppo

Syrian government forces are confronting a new wave of major attack by jihadi groups on government-controlled areas west of the northern city of Aleppo, the General Command of the Syrian military said Tuesday.

The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Islam army are waging a wide-scale offensive from several directions on the government-controlled western part of Aleppo city, preceded by an intense shelling on the residential areas west of Aleppo, leaving over 20 people killed and more than 40 others wounded on Tuesday.

"The Syrian army is currently confronting the attacks and the sources of fire, leaving big losses among the terrorist groups," the military said in a statement.

Tuesday's attack started with violent shelling on several areas, including a hospital in the al-Muhafaza district, killing three women and injuring others, including children.

Syrian national TV aired footages of the targeted hospital, showing destruction and blood stains on the floor.

Also, the jihadists detonated a car bomb at the al-Zahra district, leaving an unknown number of casualties.

The TV, showing footage of the aftermath of the car bombing in al-Zahra, said the blast was so big that it rattled all of Aleppo.

The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and like-minded groups have recently intensified their assaults by shelling on government-controlled parts of the city, trying to advance from eastern Aleppo to the western part of the city.

The Syrian army said it had repelled the attacks, but the rebel shelling continued, prompting government airstrikes on rebel-held areas.

The intensified violence reflects the gap between the government and the rebels, as well as the broader international differences between the countries that support different parties to the conflict.

The Syrian government side says that a truce backed by both the U.S. and Russia, which went into effect last February, has been violated by the attacking rebels in Aleppo.

Washington and Moscow agreed on Friday on a "regime of silence" to take place near the capital Damascus and the northwestern province of Latakia to shore up the falling truce.

Aleppo, however, was not included, and the civilians were the ones paying the price.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based watchdog group, over 244 civilians, including 43 children and 27 women, were killed by rebel shelling on government areas and government airstrikes on rebel-held areas over the past 10 days. Endit