A Syria war monitor said rebels seized Aleppo's civilian airport today - the first time they have taken such a facility - along with key towns in Idlib and Hama provinces as they waged a dayslong offensive.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions "took control of the Aleppo international airport" on the city's southeastern outskirts after government forces withdrew, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It added that rebels also advanced in Hama and Idlib provinces, taking control of "dozens of strategic towns without any resistance".
The Syrian military earlier said that rebels had entered large parts of Aleppo city during an offensive in which dozens of soldiers had been killed, forcing the army to redeploy - the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
The surprise attack led by the Islamist Hayat Tahriral-Sham has jolted the frontlines of the Syrian civil war that have largely been frozen since 2020, reviving fighting in a corner of the fractured country near the Turkish border.
The army said it was preparing a counteroffensive to restore state authority.
The Syrian army command's statement was the first public acknowledgement by the military that rebels had entered Aleppo, which had been under full state control since government forces backed by Russia and Iran drove out rebels eight years ago.
"The large numbers of terrorists and the multiplicity of battlefronts prompted our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defence lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers, and prepare for a counterattack," the army said.
The army said that the rebels had entered large parts of Aleppo but army bombardment had stopped them from establishing fixed positions. It promised to "expel them and restore the control of the state ... over the entire city and its countryside".
Two rebel sources said the insurgents had also captured the city of Maraat al Numan in Idlib province, bringing all of that province under their control, in what would be another significant blow to Mr Assad.
The fighting revives the long-simmering Syrian conflict as the wider region is roiled by wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where a truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday.
The attack was launched from insurgent-held areas of northwestern Syria that remain outside Assad's grasp.
Two Syrian military sources said that Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted insurgents in an Aleppo suburb today.
Speaking yesterday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow regarded the rebel attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty. "We are in favour of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible," he said.
The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in opposition-held parts of Syria, said in a post on X that Syrian government and Russian aircraft carried out airstrikes on residential neighbourhoods, a gas station and a school in rebel-held Idlib, killing four civilians and wounding six others.
The two Syrian military sources said Russia has promised Damascus extra military aid that would start arriving in the next 72 hours. Authorities closed Aleppo airport and roads to the city, the two military sources and a third army source said.
The Syrian army has been told to follow "safe withdrawal" orders from the main areas of the city that the rebels had entered, the three military sources said.
The rebels, including factions backed by Turkey, said yesterday their fighters were sweeping through various Aleppo neighbourhoods.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander in the Jaish al-Izza rebel brigade, said their speedy advance had been helped by a lack of Iran-backed manpower to support the government in the broader Aleppo province.
Iran's allies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel as the Gaza war has expanded through the Middle East.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a phone call with his Syrian counterpart yesterday, accused the United States and Israel of being behind the insurgent attack.
The opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas of Idlib province, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army.
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey, which supports the rebels, had given a green light to the offensive. Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment today.
Turkey's foreign ministry said yesterday that the clashes between rebels and government forces had resulted in an undesirable escalation of tensions.
In a statement, spokesperson Oncu Keceli said that avoiding greater instability in the region was Turkey's priority, adding that Ankara had warned that recent attacks on Idlib undermined the spirit and implementation of de-escalation agreements.
France urges all warring parties in Syria to protect civilians in Aleppo
France has urged all sides in Syria's decade-long civil war to protect civilians in second city Aleppo, where rebels largely seized control after launching an offensive earlier this week.
"France is following the military developments in Aleppo with attention," a statement from France's foreign ministry said.
Russia discusses 'dangerous' escalation in Syria with Iran, Turkey
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held phone calls with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts today expressing concerns over the "dangerous" escalation of hostilities in Syria, Moscow said.
Rebel fighters began an offensive against Syria's Iranian and Russian-backed government earlier this week, prompting Moscow to launch air strikes in aid of its ally.
Lavrov held separate calls with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts a day after Russia announced the military action.
He and Turkish top diplomat Hakan Fidan "expressed serious concern" and affirmed the need to "coordinate joint action to stabilise the situation", the Russian foreign ministry said in its readout of the call.
In a call with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, both sides expressed "strong support" for Syria's sovereignty and called for "joint efforts aimed at stabilising the situation", the ministry said.
Moscow is Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's most important military backer, having turned the tide of the civil war in his favour when it intervened in 2015.
READ MORE: What do we know about Syrian rebels' offensive on Aleppo?
