Airstrikes Pound Rebel-Held Aleppo, a Strategic Prize in Syrian Civil War

Syrian government warplanes struck near and inside Aleppo in northwest Syria on Monday, state media and rescue workers said, as President Bashar al-Assad’s government moved to repel rebels who took control of the city in a recent lightning offensive.

Airstrikes also hit residential buildings in the city of Idlib, which has become a refuge for people displaced by the civil war, killing at least five civilians and leaving 30 others injured, according to the White Helmets, an independent rescue organization. The outskirts of Aleppo came under attack in a joint operation by Russian and Syrian forces, according to SANA, a Syrian state-run news agency. The White Helmets said the city itself was targeted.