Fighting in northern Syria, where armed groups are launching a major offensive against regime forces, has killed at least 242 people since Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Observatory said earlier that about 200 people had been killed, most of them militants.
On Friday, a Syrian security source confirmed the arrival of Syrian regime military reinforcements in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

Heavy fighting and clashes are taking place on the western side of Aleppo, the source said, adding that ‘these reinforcements have not reached the city’s borders’, AFP reported.