Wasteland revealed after battle for Aleppo's Old City
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The rubble and shrapnel on the streets around Bab al-Hadeed district on Friday revealed the ferocity of the battle this week that gave Syria's army control of the historic area, bringing it close to its biggest victory after nearly six years of war.
Fighting continues in Aleppo, where rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad have lost most of the territory they have held in the city for years.
The booms from air strikes, smell of gunpowder and sight of rising smoke from nearby districts testified to the ongoing violence on Friday as the army and allied militias press their assault.
The commander of a volunteer group in the Tiger Force, the Syrian army's best-known unit, said his troops had suffered heavy losses in the narrow lanes around Bab al-Hadeed, one of the Old City's historic gates near the towering Aleppo Citadel.
"The militants had sophisticated weapons, especially sniper rifles, and they were professionals," said the commander who gave his name only as Ismail. "Their resistance was very fierce. We had a lot of martyrs."
"We approached them from several directions," he added, standing in front of a cracked building with burn marks. "They were attacking us, killing us, and then running away ... this area took us two days to liberate completely."
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