Syrian rebels launched a major assault Friday aimed at breaking a months-long siege of opposition-held districts of Aleppo, as regime ally Russia held off on renewed air strikes.
Rebel groups including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham faction and former al-Qaida affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front fired waves of rockets into government-held western Aleppo, killing at least 15 civilians, a monitor said.
The rebels also targeted government positions east of Aleppo city and in the coastal province of Latakia, including the Hmeimim military base used by Russian forces allied with the regime.
Moscow says it has not bombed Aleppo since October 18, but senior Russian military official Sergei Rudskoi told a briefing Friday that the military had asked President Vladimir Putin for authorization to resume its air strikes.
"We have appealed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with a request to resume air strikes," Rudskoi said.
But the Kremlin said Putin did not agree.