Assad’s favor after a Russian blitzkrieg on Aleppo helped him regain control over the country’s second biggest city.

The surprise attack jolted the frontlines of the Syrian civil war that have largely been frozen since 2020. The army said it was preparing a counteroffensive.

Opposition fighters have seized control of most of Syria's second-largest city Aleppo after launching a surprise offensive against government forces, a war monitor reported on Saturday, as an airstrike reportedly killed 16 people and wounded 20.