Armed opposition groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces advanced into central Aleppo late Friday, according to local sources.
The anti-regime groups advanced from the west toward Aleppo's city center after three days of fighting regime forces, breaking through defensive lines in the outer neighborhoods of Hamdaniyah, New Aleppo and Zahraa by midday.
The groups also seized the Saraqib district at the junction of the M4 and M5 highways in southeastern Idlib, after surrounding it from the north and south.
During three days of clashes, armed groups captured 108 locations, including 86 in Aleppo's countryside and 22 in Idlib.
Anti-regime groups have gained control of at least 850 square kilometers (328 miles) in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
Russian warplanes, meanwhile, launched an airstrike on Mare, a district in northern Aleppo, that killed eight members of the Syrian National Army late Friday.
The clashes began Wednesday in the western countryside of Aleppo.
From Nov. 27 - 28, anti-regime groups rapidly advanced from western Aleppo's countryside toward the center, capturing numerous areas in Idlib's countryside on the second day of clashes.
As fighting intensified in Aleppo's center, many close to the regime fled to Damascus.
