Syrian Army Repels Major Nusra Front Attack on Western Aleppo

The Syrian army supported by militia repelled an attack of the Nusra Front and allied groups on the western part of the city of Aleppo.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — A source told Sputnik that militants had attacked the city from five directions simultaneously but were pulled back by the airstrikes of Syria's air forces.

"Terrorists of the Nusra [Front] and their allies attempted to attack positions of the [Syrian] army and militia in the western part of Aleppo. The scale of the attack forced the army to request the Syrian Air Force's support, its airstrikes left dozens of militants killed," the source said.

Information on casualties among the Syrian army troops and local militia was not immediately available.

Aleppo has recently been mired in violence and heavy fighting, despite the nationwide ceasefire in Syria. At least 100 civilians were killed last week as a result of terrorists' mortar and rocket shelling on Aleppo's residential areas.

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27. It was supported by Damascus, as well as by dozens of opposition groups on the ground. The Nusra Front and Daesh, both outlawed in Russia, were not part of the deal.