1st LD: Rebel shelling kills 12 in Syria's Aleppo

At least 12 people were killed Wednesday by renewed rebel shelling on government-controlled district in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The shelling targeted the sprawling Hamadaniyeh district in the government-controlled western part of Aleppo city, said the report.

The relentless shelling lasted all day Wednesday as ambulances were franticly speeding to transfer the wounded to hospitals.

According to the report, over 40 wounded people were hospitalized, as some bodies of civilians were found charred due to the intensity of the "random" shelling.

The report said the targeted areas are all civilians with no military presence, adding that the death toll is not final as the shelling is still ongoing and ambulances were still wailing in that part of the city.

The TV aired live footage from near a hospital in Hamadaniyeh district, showing many families crying and waiting for the destiny of their wounded relatives.

Earlier in the day, a military source told Xinhua that up to 142 civilians have been killed in rebel attacks in Aleppo since July 31.

An array of extremist groups unleashed what they called "Aleppo's Large Epic" battle on July 31, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A total of 48 children, 31 women, and 63 men have been killed, in addition to 672 injuries, mostly women and children, the source added.

The rebel attacks, which included firing mortar shells and improvised rockets, targeted several districts in the government-controlled part of western Aleppo.

Meanwhile, al-Mayadeen TV put the death toll among civilians over the past week at 162, adding that over 662 others were wounded.

The rebel groups that unleashed the attacks are mainly Jaish al-Fateh rebels, in coordination with Ahrar al-Sham, Nour Addien Zinki, the Islamic Turkestan Party, Failaq al-Sham, and Jabeht Fateh al-Sham.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel factions, was reportedly formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.

Some of its factions are active in the provinces of Hama and Latakia. The group, reportedly supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, has seized most of Idlib province in northwestern Syria last year.

The Jaish al-Fateh rebel group earlier claimed that it had broken the siege of the Syrian army on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city after six days of strenuous attacks.

The group said that key areas have been captured include the military college and the southern town of al-Ramuseh.

Aleppo, the country's previous top commercial hub, has been divided since 2012 between a government-held west and a rebel-controlled east. Many observers believe that whoever controls Aleppo will gain the upper hand in any potential settlement in Syria.

Battles in Aleppo flared up last month, when the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian airstrikes, made sweeping progress in the northern countryside of Aleppo, severing the last supply route for the rebels in eastern Aleppo.

The move triggered violent responses by the rebels, which fired mortars and rockets continuously on the government-controlled western part of the city. Endit