Syrian army says it is in control of Aleppo, FSA denies claims.

Syrian army says it is in control of Aleppo, FSA denies claims.(AA).Syria said its troops seized a rebel-held Aleppo district on Wednesday after storming it and “annihilating” most of the insurgents, as a long-threatened ground assault on the key city was launched. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) promptly denied the claim, acknowledging that a “barbaric and savage attack” on the neighborhood of Salaheddin was under way but later saying they had recaptured much of what they lost. The offensive came as Amnesty International raised concerns about the plight of civilians in Syria’s commercial capital and warned both sides they would be held accountable for attacks on residential areas. Early in the afternoon, state news agency SANA said “our brave armed forces have taken full control of the district of Salaheddin” and “inflicted heavy losses on groups of armed terrorists, killing or wounding a large number of them.” Dozens of rebels were captured, including foreigners, and others surrendered, SANA said.
It said troops seized a large number of arms. State television said the “armed forces dealt violent blows to the mercenary terrorists” in Salaheddin, “annihilating most of the terrorists.” But FSA spokesman Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi said: “It is not true the regime army has seized control of the district. “It is true that there is a barbaric and savage attack,” he told AFP via Skype. “They are using all the weapons at their disposal to attack Salaheddin, including fighter jets, tanks and mortars.” He said there was fighting in many districts, but it was concentrated on Salaheddin because of the “great symbolic value for us and the army.” Hours later, rebel commander Wassel Ayub said the FSA had launched a counter-attack and retaken part of Salaheddin. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights likewise said the rebels were making gains. “Clashes also raged in Aleppo’s Al-Midan district as rebels tried to seize” an air force security bureau, the Britain-based watchdog said. At least 37 people were killed in Aleppo -- 17 civilians, 10 rebels and 10 soldiers -- from a total of at least 162 nationwide, it said. “I believe the real number is much higher but it is impossible to document the figures because of the ferocity of the clashes” in Aleppo, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said. A total of 225 people -- mostly civilians -- died in Syria on Tuesday, one of the worst days for casualties in the nearly 17-month uprising the Observatory said last week has cost more than 21,000 lives.Read the full story here.