Islamist militants recapture dozens of towns and villages, with fierce fighting on outskirts of Syria’s second city

Islamist militants based in north-western Syria have launched a major offensive that has led to fierce fighting on the outskirts of Aleppo, with insurgents capturing territory for the first time in four years as Syrian government forces pummelled rebel-held areas.

Fighters from the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) began the attack earlier this week from their base in the Idlib countryside, a slim strip of land in Syria’s north-west that formed a base of rebel-held territory.