Jihadist groups unleash broad offensive south of Syria's Aleppo, military responds

Jihadi groups in Syria unleashed a wide-scale offensive against a government-controlled town south of the northern town of Aleppo, in another breach to the shaky, yet strenuous truce that started in the city early on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua.

The radical groups, mainly the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, started a broad offensive with assorted weaponry and artillery against the town of Khan Tuman in the southern countryside of Aleppo, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The Syrian army responded to the attack, destroying a number of tanks, he said, adding that the attack was preceded with heavy artillery shelling followed by the rebels' attempt to advance toward the town from the area of al-Khalidiyeh.

Clashes erupted and various weapons were used, including the heavy ones, he added.

The Nusra Front has announced on its Twitter account the commencement of the battle to "liberate" the town and nearby areas with the help of the rebel groups such as Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and Nour Addien al-Zunki.

Meanwhile, the source said the Syrian army fired a rocket at an explosive-laden armored vehicle, which was approaching Khan Tuman, adding that another SUV outfitted with heavy machine gun was also destroyed along with its occupants.

It also said that Syrian warplanes carried out several raids on the approaching rebels and their reinforcements near the town.

The attack on Khan Tuman was not the first rebel breach to the truce, as over 20 mortar shells slammed government controlled areas earlier on Thursday.

A 48-hour regime of silence started in Aleppo at 1:00 a.m. Thursday (GMT 2300 Wednesday), said the military statement.

The truce in Aleppo comes as the city has witnessed over 10 violent days, during which over 120 people were killed and hundreds of others wounded.

The U.S.-Russia-backed truce in Aleppo came to bring a lull to the troubled city that has witnessed the most violent shelling from the rebels on government-controlled areas.

Opposition activists also accused Syrian warplanes of striking rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the city.

The "regime of silence" has previously been announced to include areas in the countryside of the capital Damascus and the northwestern province of Latakia.

Russia and the United States have recently discussed including Aleppo in the regime of calm. Enditem