Intense airstrikes target main rebel-held supply road into Syria's Aleppo

Intense airstrikes have been targeting a rebel-held road into Syria's northern city of Aleppo since midnight, a monitor group reported on Sunday.

At least 65 air raids have been carried out over the past hours against the Kastello road, a main supply route into rebel-held areas in Aleppo city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog group said the shelling on the road at the outskirts of Aleppo is the most violent since last February.

The airstrikes were coupled with fierce battles between the Syrian army and the rebels in towns of Handarat and Hraitan in northern Aleppo as well as areas in the southern countryside of that city, Syria's second largest and once an economic hub.

Cutting the Kastello road sever the last remaining rebel supply line into rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city, as the road is deemed as the gate between the northern countryside of Aleppo and the city itself.

Battles have been raging near the road over the past week, with the opposition announcing the opening of the road on Friday. Endit