Syria regime pounds rebels and extremists ahead of talks

Government aircraft pounded rebels and their extremist allies in northern Syria overnight, activists said Wednesday, as Moscow announced new peace talks to be held in Kazakhstan on Jan. 23.

Air raids targeted the rebel strongholds of Atarib and Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It had no immediate word on any casualties.

An AFP journalist heard intense airstrikes in the Atarib area.

The strikes came despite a shaky two-week ceasefire between the government and non-extremist rebels that is meant to pave the way for peace talks which Moscow said Wednesday would begin in the Kazakh capital Astana on Jan. 23.

Government aircraft also carried out strikes Wednesday in Idlib province in the northwest, targeting positions of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, which is not party to the ceasefire, the Observatory said.

The strikes on the town of Taftanaz killed three rebels from an Islamist group allied to the extremists, the Britain-based activist group said.

An AFP correspondent in the town saw a building that had totally collapsed in the attack. The White Helmets, a rescue service operating in rebel areas, spent hours clearing debris with picks and hammers.

Since the ceasefire went into effect on Dec. 30, the government's strikes on rebel strongholds have eased but have not stopped completely.

Fighting has continued in the Wadi Barada region, northwest of Damascus, which is the capital's main water source.

Millions of people have been without mains water for weeks after fighting damaged key infrastructure.

President Bashar Assad has claimed that Fateh al-Sham forces are present in the area, a charge rebels deny.

On Tuesday, the government sent reinforcements to Wadi Barada, the Observatory said without providing further details.

"The role of the Syrian army is to liberate that area in order to prevent those terrorists from using that water in order to suffocate the capital," Assad told French media in an interview aired Monday.