Aleppo airport closed, sources say, as Syrian rebels reach heart of city

AMMAN — Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport and cancelled all flights on Nov 30, three military sources told Reuters, as rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached the heart of the city.

The opposition fighters, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, carried out a surprise sweep through government-held towns this week and reached Aleppo nearly a decade after having been forced out of the northern Syrian city.

Russia, a key ally of Assad, has promised Damascus extra military aid to thwart the rebels, two military sources said, adding new hardware would start arriving in the next 72 hours.

The rebels began their incursion on Nov 27 and late on Nov 29, an operations room representing the offensive said they were sweeping through various neighbourhoods of Aleppo.

They are returning to the city for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran, and regional Shi'ite militias retook it, with the insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege.

Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander in the Jaish al-Izza rebel brigade, said their speedy advance this week had been helped by a lack of Iran-backed manpower in the broader 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 in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey had given a green light for the offensive.

But Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said Turkey sought to avoid greater instability in the region and had warned recent attacks undermined de-escalation agreements.

The attack is the biggest since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey agreed to a deal to