74 killed in Aleppo rebel attacks

At least 74 civilians, including 25 children, have been killed in the eight-day-old rebel offensive on the government-held part of Aleppo city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Opposition fighters launched a protracted attack on the western edge of government-held Aleppo, aiming to break a government-imposed siege on the eastern part of the city they control.

The opposition groups have come under increasing criticism for indiscriminate shelling of western Aleppo resulting in civilian deaths.

Meanwhile, a temporary Russian moratorium on airstrikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo has expired. None of the area's estimated 275,000 residents evacuated the territory, as was urged by Russian and Syrian officials.