Most of the victims were killed in the city’s Hamadanieh district, and clashes are intensifying around the city’s Southern regions as both sides are preparing for a major battle for the control of the city, SANA reported.

The Syrian city has been divided since 2012 between government forces in the West and the militants in the East.

Over the last few days, fierce clashes have been underway in and around Aleppo between government forces and terrorists over the control of militant-held areas.

Meanwhile, Russia has announced that it will halt airstrikes around the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian convoys into the ravaged city.

Russia has been bombing the terror groups of ISIL and the Fatah al-Sham Front, formerly known as al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, in Syria at the official request of the Damascus government since September 2015.

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