Syrian rebel says Aleppo air strikes intensified on Wednesday

BEIRUT - Air strikes against rebel-held areas of Aleppo intensified on Wednesday, hitting areas of its old city, though pro-government forces had yet to make further advances, an official from the Aleppo-based Jabha Shamiya rebel group said.

A Syrian military source meanwhile said the army's operation in Aleppo was being delayed by "terrorist attempts to hide among civilians". The Syrian government refers to all the rebels as terrorists.

Syrian government forces backed by allied militia from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran have driven rebels from more than a third of the area of eastern Aleppo they controlled in recent days.