Rebel forces have launched a major offensive in north-western Syria, capturing territory from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces for the first time in years. The Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions said they had seized control of a number of towns and villages in Aleppo and Idlib provinces since Wednesday.

Russian and Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas in northwest Syria on Thursday, targeting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters near the Turkish border. The airstrikes follow a major rebel offensive that captured territory in northwest Aleppo for the first time in years.

Syrian rebel fighters broke through government front lines to within three miles of Aleppo and cut a key highway to the capital in their first major offensive in four years.

In northwest Syria near the Turkish border, intense clashes erupted as Russian and Syrian forces bombed rebel-held areas to counter an insurgent offensive. The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham initiated the offensive in Aleppo province,

Scores of people were killed after forces opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad overtook a Syrian military base, a monitoring group reported.

Syrian rebels have launched their first major offensive in the country in four years, claiming to have beaten government forces back several miles and captured a dozen villages west of Aleppo.

Syrian government and opposition factions say Syrian armed groups have launched a large-scale attack on areas controlled by government forces, setting off fierce clashes for the second day

Syrian rebels in the last opposition enclave in northern Syria launched on Wednesday a wide-scale military operation against the Syrian army and seized territory in the first such advance in years, army and rebel sources said.

Syrian rebels have launched a large-scale attack on regime forces in western Aleppo, according to a Free Syrian Army source and local residents.