Aleppo airport closed, sources say, as Syrian rebels reach heart of city
Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport and cancelled all flights on Saturday, 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.
