Hundreds of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias have crossed into Syria to help the regime of Bashar al-Assad fight off an insurgency across much of the northwest of the country, which has seen the seizure of the second city of Aleppo.
The Syrian government, meanwhile, said Syrian and Russian air forces were striking rebel-held positions in the countryside east of Aleppo. The government said the military was working to secure a string of towns that runs along the frontline north of Hama, between Aleppo and Damascus.
