Syrian government forces Friday battled ISIS extremists near Aleppo city as they clashed with a local Al-Qaeda affiliate and allied rebels nearby, an activist group said.
The upsurge in fighting, which the United States says is straining a fragile truce, came as a new round of peace talks got under way in Geneva.
“Fierce fighting raged between government troops and loyalist militia against ISIS… to the east of Khanasser” southeast of Aleppo city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The army is trying to recapture several areas seized by ISIS Thursday near Khanasser, the Britain-based activist group said.
Meanwhile, troops and militia loyal to President Bashar Assad’s government battled Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and allied rebels on a northern front in the battered province, the group said.
Syrian warplanes carried out several strikes against Al-Nusra and rebel positions, as shells targeting the loyalists left six pro-government militia fighters dead, it added.