Syrian troops launch counter-offensive amid airstrikes in Aleppo

Syrian government forces have launched a counter-offensive under the cover of air strikes in an attempt to regain control of areas they had lost to insurgents the day before in Aleppo, activists and state media said.

The offensive came a day after Syrian rebels launched a broad ground attack aiming to break a weeks-long government siege on the eastern rebel-held neighbourhoods of Syria's largest city.