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BEIRUT / AP
Militants from the IS group seized five villages from Syrian rebels close to the Turkish border on Wednesday, further weakening the rebels’ foothold in the Aleppo area. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a network of activists monitoring the Syria conflict, said the extremist group took five villages in Azaz district, north of Aleppo, where rebels hold an enclave host to tens of thousands of internally displaced civilians.
The IS group’s news agency also reported the advance. Syrian rebels are anticipating a major government offensive against their position in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and once the commercial capital. Aleppo is now divided between government and rebel control. Dozens of civilians have been killed in shelling and airstrikes on the city over the past week. A government offensive backed by Russian air power and regional militias earlier this year dislodged rebels from parts of Azaz and severed their corridor between the Turkish border and Aleppo.