At least 20 Syrian regime forces were killed yesterday when Islamist rebels planted explosives in a tunnel under an army position in the northern city of Aleppo.
Aleppo’s historic Old City has seen horrific violence ever since the rebels launched a major offensive against Syria’s former economic hub in July 2012.
The area is a flashpoint area that sees daily fighting, and the army has set up multiple positions there.
“Islamist rebels detonated a tunnel near the Zahrawi market in the Old City of Aleppo, killing at least 20 army soldiers and pro-regime militiamen,” said the pro-rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Fighting broke out after the explosion, and at least one rebel was killed, said the Britain-based Observatory.
The attack was claimed by the Islamic Front, Syria’s largest rebel alliance which groups thousands of fighters across the strife-torn country.
It posted a link to a video on its Twitter account, showing a huge blast throwing a massive cloud of debris up into the air.
In recent weeks, the Islamic Front has frequently resorted to the medieval tactic of using tunnels to plant massive amounts of explosives beneath fortified positions since they are incapable of matching Syrian government forces above ground.
