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00:00A few days after rebels launched a renewed offensive, nearly all of the city of Aleppo
00:05and northern Syria is under the control of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and
00:10its allies, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
00:15Residents of the city took to the streets to celebrate, honking horns and firing in
00:19the air.
00:21The rebel forces announced that they had taken control of landmarks such as the Aleppo Governorate
00:26building and the municipal palace, imposing a curfew throughout the city.
00:31Nonetheless, not all of the city was jubilant as Russian forces began an aerial assault
00:36on rebel-held areas.
00:39The taking of Aleppo comes amid some of the worst clashes in years between the Islamist
00:44rebels, which are supported by Turkey, and the military of President Bashar al-Assad's
00:48government, which is supported by Russia and Iran.
00:52By Friday, the Islamists and their allies had wrested control of more than 50 towns
00:57and villages in the north, in the government's biggest loss of territory in years.
01:02The operation started three days ago, and thank God, we liberated the whole western
01:09countryside with the hands of the Mujahideen.
01:13We say to our brothers in the liberated areas, you are safe as long as the Mujahideen are
01:17here.
01:21To slow the advance of the Islamist groups, Syrian and Russian warplanes have begun launching
01:26intense airstrikes around Aleppo and Idlib, causing many towns to evacuate.
01:33Military sources told Reuters that Russia has promised Assad's government additional
01:37military aid to counter the rebel offensive.
01:40The new hardware is expected to begin arriving in the next three days.