Syrian rebels have launched their first major offensive in the country in four years, claiming to have beaten government forces back several miles and captured a dozen villages west of Aleppo.

Syrian armed groups opposing the government forces and the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad have launched a large-scale offensive in Aleppo province. The rebels have seized control of several settlements in the country's northwest,

Extremist rebels in Syria have overrun an army base and taken at least 13 villages in one of the biggest flare-ups of violence in years in the country's north-east. The rebels launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo,