Syria Conflict: Troops ‘Mass for Aleppo Assault’
More than 20,000 Syrian troops are massed around Aleppo, military sources say, as fighting rages for control of the country’s second city.
Fighter jets, helicopters and artillery have pounded rebel positions ahead of a feared full-scale assault within days.
In Damascus, another key battleground in the war, army sources said rebels had been pushed from a last stronghold. The rebels said they had withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Iran is seeking the release of 48 Iranians kidnapped on Saturday.
Iranian diplomats and Syrian state television blamed the abduction, which took place near the shrine of Sayyida Zainab in a suburb of Damascus, on “armed groups”.