Assad’s favor after a Russian blitzkrieg on Aleppo helped him regain control over the country’s second biggest city.

Islamist rebels have been advancing through large swathes of the country's north-west in the past week, threatening the rule of Syria's long-time president, Bashar Al-Assad.

The surprise attack, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was the boldest rebel assault for years in the civil war that has been frozen.

Syrian opposition forces have taken control of much of the country’s second-largest city Aleppo after a lightning advance that killed dozens of government soldiers in a major challenge to President Bashar al-Assad.

The surprise offensive on Aleppo by Syrian rebel groups has left the US in the difficult position of not fully supporting either side while also maintaining a force posture of nearly 1,000 troops in Syria as part of the ongoing mission to fight ISIS.

Syrian and Russian jets are stepping up strikes on opposition forces in northern Syria in retaliation for the sudden offensive that has cost the regime control of the country’s second largest city, Aleppo.

Opposition forces seeking to overthrow Syria's President Bashar al-Assad launched their biggest offensive in years last week, retaking the northern city of Aleppo and driving government forces out of the region.

Islamist rebels in Syria are taking the fight to the Assad regime. According to activists, Shiite militants have begun arriving in eastern Syria to fight alongside government troops battling rebels who drove Assad's forces out of Aleppo last week and took control of the city.