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A fighter shoots in the air in downtown Aleppo
A Syrian opposition fighter shoots in the air in downtown Aleppo, Syria, on November 30 [Ghaith Alsayed/AP Photo]
  • Rebels with the group Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have seized control of large parts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, after a surprise offensive this week.
  • The renewed fighting in Aleppo marks a new phase in Syria’s long-running civil war, which began in 2011 during the Arab Spring protests.