Syria army overruns part of rebel bastion in Aleppo

The Syrian army on Monday overran part of the rebel-held Salaheddin district of Aleppo, the country's most populous city, a security source in Damascus told AFP. "The Syrian army took control of part of Salaheddin district and continues its offensive," the source said on the third day of an army onslaught against rebel districts in the northern city. However, Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, head of the Free Syrian Army military council of Aleppo, denied the report and insisted government troops had "not progressed one metre." "We launched a new assault from Salaheddin during the night, and we destroyed four tanks," the rebel commander told AFP by phone. Official news agency SANA announced Sunday night that loyalist troops were in the process of "cleansing" the Salaheddin district of "terrorists" -- the regime's blanket term for the opposition. The rebels had on Sunday claimed to have repelled all army assaults against their positions in Aleppo, the second largest city and economic powerhouse of the country. Aleppo was opened as a battle front on July 20, and a regime assault on rebel-held areas began after military reinforcements arrived on Saturday. From: The Daily Star