Syrian rebel fighters broke through government front lines to within three miles of Aleppo and cut a key highway to the capital in their first major offensive in four years.The surprise push by jihadists of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allies sparked fighting that left scores dead and killed at least one Russian special forces soldier fighting on the government side.

Scores of people were killed after forces opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad overtook a Syrian military base, a monitoring group reported.

Syrian rebels have launched a large-scale attack on regime forces in western Aleppo, according to a Free Syrian Army source and local residents, marking the first major flare-up in years between both sides.