Syrian rebels bombard government-held Aleppo

Grand Mufti Ahmed Badr al-Din al-Hassoun urges the “complete destruction of insurgent-held areas from which shells were being fired,” in reaction

At least eight people are thought to have died as Syria’s second city Aleppo was bombarded by insurgent artillery overnight, according to a group monitoring the war.

Syrian state TV broadcast pictures of heavily damaged buildings and streets strewn with rubble in the Suleimaniyah district of Aleppo, near the border with Turkey. The city is split between government and rebel control.

Aleppo is a major front line in the Syrian war. Insurgent groups in and around the city have repelled repeated attempts by the Syrian military and militia fighting alongside it to cut supply lines from Turkey to the rebels.

State media put the confirmed death toll at eight and said dozens more people were trapped under rubble. Human rights organisations expect the number of casualties to increase.

In a TV broadcast, Syria’s Grand Mufti Ahmed Badr al-Din al-Hassoun urged the “complete destruction of insurgent-held areas from which shells were being fired.”

“We inform the civilians there, be they supporters (of the insurgents), or not, to leave the area. Every area from which a shell is fired, should be completely destroyed,” he said.

State news agency described the attackers as hardline Islamist militants “linked to the Erdogan regime”, a reference to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan who intends to usurp power from President Bashar al-Assad.