STORY: Eight years after being forced out by Bashar al-Assad and his allies, Syrian rebels were again roaming the streets of Aleppo on Friday (November 29).
Over the past week opposition fighters have carried out a surprise sweep through government-held towns.
Now, this rebel says, Aleppo has been "completely liberated".
The attack, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is the most significant challenge to Assad in years.
The frontline of the Syrian civil war has been largely frozen since 2020.
But on Saturday (November 30), Syria's military said that dozens of its troops had been killed and that rebels had managed to enter large parts of Aleppo.
Syrian and Russian warplanes are targeting rebels in a suburb of the city, according to two Syrian military sources.
They also said Russia had promised to send extra military aid to thwart the rebels, which would start arriving in the next 72 hours.
:: December 5, 2016
Assad recovered full control of Aleppo - which had been a rebel stronghold - in 2016.
That was with the support of Russian air power and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.
:: November 29, 2024
The commander of one rebel brigade said the opposition fighters' swift advance in recent days had been aided by a lack of Iran-backed manpower in the wider 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.
Opposition sources also said that Turkey, which backs the rebels, had given a green light to the offensive.
Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment.
