Warplanes hit Aleppo ahead of new diplomatic push

Beirut : Syrian and Russian warplanes carried out fresh strikes on rebel-held districts of Aleppo early Thursday, after an intense bombardment over the previous two days killed at least 71 civilians, a monitor said.

Rebel fire on government-held areas of the city killed at least eight civilians on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added.

More than 20 air strikes hit the rebel-held east at dawn on Thursday, the Britain-based monitoring group said. It had no immediate word on casualties.

The bombardment was accompanied by a fresh government advance on the northeastern outskirts of the city, where troops captured several hilltops overlooking rebel-held areas.

State television said four children were killed by rebel rocket fire which hit a school in a government-controlled district early on Thursday. 

The army launched its offensive to retake the whole of Aleppo on September 22. The east has been held by the rebels since 2012.

The operation has been backed by Moscow, which stepped up its air strikes against rebel areas earlier this week. 

Seven children were among 56 civilians killed in rebel-held areas on Tuesday, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Another 15 civilians were killed on Wednesday.

"The toll jumped because there were so many people who died of their wounds, and others whose bodies were still stuck under the rubble," Abdel Rahman told AFP.