Syria: Dozens dead as rebels try to break Aleppo siege

Syrian government troops and rebels have been locked in fierce fighting on Aleppo's western edges, where at least 41 civilians have been killed over the past three days. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the death toll included at least 17 children, adding that hundreds of mortars had been fired. 

The northern city of Aleppo's frontline runs through the heart of the ancient city, dividing rebels in the east from government forces in the west. 

Rebels, in an opposition offensive to break a devastating siege, have unleashed car bombs and salvos of rockets and mortar shells to break through government lines.
  
Syrian state media has accused opposition fighters of firing shells containing toxic gas into government-controlled districts, but the rebels have denied the allegations.

ALJAZEERA