Russian helicopter shot down in Syria

In recent weeks, government forces have encircled the east, sparking concerns of a humanitarian crisis for the people under siege there.

Rebel spokesman Abdul-Salam Abdul-Razzek said there had been fierce fighting with government forces near al-Ramouseh, along a strategic government-controlled highway and artillery base south of Aleppo.

Russia’s air campaign in Syria, launched in September, has shored up Assad’s regime, which was on the verge of collapse after a series of military defeats a year ago, and helped it gain key ground around Aleppo and elsewhere.

Syrians hold photos of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian president Vladimir Putin during a pro-Syrian regime protest.

The attack by Russian warplanes comes after a Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down over the Syrian province of Idlib on Monday, resulting in the death of five soldiers.

The Syrian Civil Defence group said the attack – which has not been independently verified by NBC News – was carried out in the northern city of Saraqeb on Monday night, near to where a Russian helicopter was shot down earlier in the day.

The Kremlin said all five people on board were assumed dead. The helicopter was returning to the Hmeymim air base after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo. In July of last year, two Russian pilots were killed when their helicopter was shot down by ISIS, and in November of last year, a Marine was killed when his helicopter was shot down in Turkey while trying to rescue the pilot of a fighter plane who was also shot down.

Syrian rebels accused government forces of launching toxic gas attacks on civilians in a town southwest of Aleppo today.

Abdel Rahman said anti-Assad fighters from the Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly Al Qaida affiliate Nusra Front, and allied Islamists, were struggling to hold positions they had seized in Aleppo.

It has become the main target of the rebel assault.

Children in the Syrian city of Aleppo are burning tyres in an attempt to create a no-fly zone above the besieged city.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed in late 2015 that sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, had been used for the first time in the conflict, without saying which party in the many sided conflict it thought had used it.

More than 800 terrorists were killed as they tried to break the siege of the city.

Moscow had announced the launch of humanitarian corridors out of Aleppo for civilians and surrendering rebels, a scheme that some NGOs said was “deeply flawed”, calling instead for a UN-mandated plan of escape routes.

Residents and rebels on the ground had dismissed the reported weekend crossings as “lies”.

The SDF hold approximately 40 per cent of the town, and are fighting to take it with support from the US-led coalition against Daesh.