Rebels launch fierce assault in Syria’s divided Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria: Rebel fighters launched a major assault on government-held districts of Syria’s long-divided Aleppo on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), after the regime severed their only remaining supply route into the battleground city.

Once Syria’s economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began with anti-government protests in 2011 and which has since killed more than 280,000 people.