Syria army begins offensive near Aleppo with Russian support

October 17, 2015 02:32

Syrian troops backed by Russian airpower and allied militias opened a new front today against rebels around second city Aleppo, where Washington claimed up to 2,000 Iran-backed forces were deployed.

The offensive came as Turkey said it had downed a drone of unknown origin that violated its air space close to the Syrian border, and a monitor said the toll in the conflict had risen to more than 250,000 people.

The Aleppo offensive is the fourth that President Bashar al-Assad's regime has launched since Moscow began an air campaign on September 30.

Control of Aleppo city, once the country's economic hub, has been divided between the regime and rebels since mid-2012.

There and in the surrounding countryside the front lines have long been static.

A security source said the operation in southern Aleppo province was backed by Russian strikes and fighters from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.

And a US official said as many as 2,000 Iranian and Iran-backed forces were aiding the offensive.

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