Fierce clashes erupted between rebels and pro-government forces around Syria's largest city, Aleppo, Saturday despite a proclamation from the Syrian military that it would extend its own cease-fire through Monday.
The military had declared a nationwide cease-fire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday July 6, expiring July 8 at midnight, but it had little impact on the ground, as pro-government forces choked off the last supply route to opposition areas in the contested city of Aleppo on July 7.
On Saturday evening, rebels launched a counteroffensive, leading with two car bombs to open the vital Castello road to eastern Aleppo, according to activists. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which gathers information from a network of informants across the war-torn country, said the cars were driven by two suicide bombers from al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, the Nusra Front, which fights alongside rebel groups against government forces. Syrian journalist Ahmad Primo said one of the car bombs was driven by a militant from Ahrar al-Sham, another ultraconservative jihadist group fighting the government.
Rebels then launched a ground offensive on the government's newly acquired positions overlooking the supply route, according to the social media accounts for the Aleppo Conquest Operations Room and Levant Front, two rebel coalitions. Fighting for the Mallah farms continued into the night.