Syrian opposition breaks Aleppo regime siege

ALEPPO, Syria

Syrian opposition forces on Saturday claimed killing 150 regime troops and confiscating military vehicles after breaking the siege on opposition-held areas in northern Aleppo city.

According to a local opposition source, who wished to stay anonymous due to safety concerns, “On the seventh day of clashes, some 20 tanks, seven armored combat vehicles, 10 artilleries and 60 troop carriers have been captured from regime forces.”

Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) opposition fighters also seized control of regime positions in Ramousa area in southern Aleppo, opening the route to opposition-held neighborhoods in the city, the source told Anadolu Agency.

According to the same source, groups of opposition fighters arrived in besieged neighborhoods in Aleppo.

“Clashes are still raging on in Ramousa outskirts between regime forces and opposition groups, which are trying to widen their control,” the source said.

On Friday, opposition fighters in Aleppo captured a regime school regarded as one of the most significant strongholds of the Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the contested city.

In February, the Syrian regime cut the supply route between Aleppo’s northern countryside and opposition-held eastern neighborhood.

In early July, regime forces moved to cut the Castello Road, which links the contested city of Aleppo with opposition-held Idlib, imposing a total blockade on opposition-controlled areas in Aleppo.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research puts the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.