This was confirmed by the militia's official spokesman, Hashim Al-Mousawi, who declared that "more than 1,000" fighters had been sent to garrison areas in southern Aleppo that had recently been recaptured from Syrian opposition groups.

Large clouds of dust and smoke rose up from what was said to be Ramousah, south of Aleppo in Syria, in an amateur video uploaded to a social media website on Thursday (September 8).

No date was specified for when the video, which purports to show government forces targeting rebels, was shot.

More than 250,000 people have died and 11 million from a population of 23 million have been forced from their homes in Syria's five-year war which started as an uprising against Assad's rule.

Seven Turkish soldiers have been killed since Turkey's August 24 incursion into northern Syria, which drove IS away from the border and is also meant to counter the advance of USA -backed Kurdish forces, which Ankara views with suspicion.

The United States and Russian Federation reached a breakthrough deal early on Saturday to try to restore peace in Syria, but air strikes hours later added to rebels' doubts that any ceasefire could hold.

Meanwhile, the plight of some 250,000 civilians trapped in rebel-held districts of Aleppo has spurred global efforts to agree a new humanitarian truce.

Senior U.S. officials played down hopes Friday of an imminent cease-fire agreement for Syria as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva for a fourth set of negotiations with his Russian counterpart in.

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Western countries, Turkey and most Arab states oppose both Assad's government and Islamic State, while supporting other anti-Assad factions.

"I want to thank Russian Federation for supporting the Syrian people during these hard years".

The ministry accused the rebels and their regional and worldwide backers of carrying out gas attacks against the Syrian civilians.

Military experts said the initial aim of the Syrian army's new battles in Aleppo is to besiege the rebel-held areas and cut off their supply lines to force a surrender.

However, the government has a history of being accused of similar attacks.

The Syrian army attacked rebel-held areas in a bid to maximise recent gains before a nationwide ceasefire comes into effect on Monday. It has been a focal point of clashes between the Syrian army and rebels.

On Tuesday night, jets bombed Khan Touman and neighbouring areas, and intense clashes took place in Ramousah and its surroundings, with rebels targeting an army tank, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom -based war monitor reported. Insurgents said they were planning a counter offensive.