The advance on Aleppo followed a shock offensive launched by insurgents Wednesday, as thousands of fighters swept through villages and towns in Syria's northwestern countryside.
A ceasefire in Hezbollah's two-month war with Israel took effect Wednesday, the day the Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive.
Turkish security officials said Thursday that Syrian opposition groups initially launched a long-planned "limited" offensive toward Aleppo, where attacks targeting civilians originated.
Besides backing opposition forces, Turkey has also established a military presence in Syria, sending troops into parts of the northwest.
The opposition groups also seized heavy weapons and military vehicles belonging to the government forces, the agency said.
Persons:
Hayat Tahrir, Robert Ford, Israel, Dareen Khalifa, It's, Hezbollah's, Bashar Assad's, Dmitry Peskov, Rami Abdurrahman, Abbas Araghchi
Organizations:
Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, International Crisis Group, Islamic, Anadolu Agency, Iranian, U.S, Zionist
Locations:
Rashidin, Aleppo, Hayat, Gaza, Lebanon, Israel, Russia, Iran, U.S, Syria, Hayat Tahrir, Hezbollah's, Ukraine, Turkey, Syrian, United States, Syrian Kurdish, Idlib, Damascus, Turkey's, Palestine