Syrian rebel forces gain ground against government

Syrian rebels on Friday said they launched a major offensive in the city of Aleppo, which is divided between government and opposition forces.

The Islamic Front rebel coalition said the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham group launched rockets at a military airport in the east of the city and destroyed a government position in the west, the Associated Press reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in London, said Friday that rebels detonated two car bombs targeting government positions in southwestern Aleppo and attacked with more than 150 rockets.

It comes after Syrian state media reported that shelling by rebels killed several children at a school in government-held western Aleppo on Thursday.

On Wednesday, air strikes on a school in the village of Haas in rebel-held Idlib killed at least 15 children, Reuters reported. Western countries blamed the Syrian military and the Russian air force, but Moscow denies any involvement.