ALEPPO, Syria — At least a dozen people, mostly women and children, were killed July 14 as the Syrian government continued to pound rebel-held areas of Aleppo with airstrikes in a battle for a strategic supply route.
Fierce battles have been raging on a daily basis on the outskirts of Aleppo between regime forces and the Syrian opposition. Fighting escalated after the government launched a major offensive July 7 against the rebel-held sector in al-Mallah, which directly overlooks Castello road, the last remaining supply route between Aleppo and its northern and western countryside. Regime forces were able to control and block the road.