Assad's regime, dominated by the radical Islamists of Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, has seized most of the major northern city. This breakthrough was facilitated by the weakening of the pro-Iranian camp, thanks to the war in Lebanon.

Syria state media say government troops are battling insurgents inside the country’s largest city Aleppo for the first time since 2016

The lightning assault on Aleppo by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham abruptly redrew the front lines of Syria’s civil war.