Syrian army captures north of bitterly contested Aleppo
BEIRUT — The Syrian army and its allies announced the capture of a swathe of eastern Aleppo from rebels on Monday in an accelerating attack that threatens to crush the opposition in its most important urban stronghold. Two rebel officials said the insurgents, facing fierce bombardment and ground attacks, had withdrawn from the northern part of eastern Aleppo to a more defensible front line along a big highway after losses that threatened to split their enclave. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the northern portion of eastern Aleppo lost by the rebels amounted to more than a third of the territory they had held, calling it the biggest defeat for the opposition in Aleppo since 2012. Thousands of residents were reported to have fled. A rebel fighter said there was "extreme, extreme, extreme pressure" on the insurgents. Part of the area lost by the rebels was taken over by a Kurdish militia from Aleppo. Capturing eastern Aleppo would be the biggest victory for President Bash...
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