Bennett announces new Amona resettlement plan

Jewish Home chair Naftali Bennett says a new plan has been made to move the residents of Amona to an adjacent plot of land following the High Court-imposed evacuation due this month.

After intense efforts and negotiations with the prime minster and the attorney general, we have succeeded in forming a plan to keep Amona on the mountain,” Benet tells his weekly faction meeting.

After efforts to prevent the evacuation by reversing the High Court ruling via legislation to legalize West Bank outposts failed, attorney general Avichai Mandelblit had recommended moving the residents to a piece of land next to the existing settlement where they would be allowed to stay for eight months. But that plan was also reportedly scuppered last week by fresh Palestinian claims of private ownership.

“The new plan has longer prospects than the previous one and even has potential for expansion in the future,” Bennett says, but he refused to give details of the agreement.

“I don’t want to reveal the plan before we present it to the people of Amona, whose determination has brought us to this agreement,” he says, adding that representatives of the Jewish Home will meet with residents later today. “I believe that we will get their agreement.”

The plan, however, would not prevent residents being forced to leave their current homes and Bennett says that “any evacuation of a Jewish settlement is a tragedy but this will mean keeping Amona on the mountain.”

— Raoul Wootliff</s>BEIRUT — Syrian rebels said Tuesday that they reached a cease-fire deal with Moscow to evacuate civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, after the U.N. and opposition activists reported possible mass killings by government forces closing in on the rebels' last enclave.

There was no immediate comment from Damascus or Moscow on the agreement, which would effectively cede the remainder of Syria's largest city to President Bashar Assad's forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the cease-fire went into effect Tuesday evening and that the first batch will begin evacuating within hours.

Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, confirmed the cease-fire and said the goal is to evacuate civilians and rebels from besieged areas.

It was not immediately clear whether the hostilities had ceased in Aleppo. The opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said shelling was continuing.

World leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents earlier Tuesday, and the U.N. human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians "on the spot" as they closed in on remaining rebel districts.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforce fears of atrocities in eastern Aleppo in the final hours of the battle for the city, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012.

Several residents and opposition activists have told The Associated Press that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in the streets in neighborhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military flatly denied the claims, saying such allegations were "a desperate attempt" to try gain international sympathy.

None of the residents reached by AP witnessed the alleged killings, and their accounts reflected the deepening chaos. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said people who were killed or wounded are being left in the streets.

Aref al-Aref, a nurse and activist in eastern Aleppo, said civilians had taken cover in a medical center after its staff evacuated two days earlier. He said the army killed them, but pressed for details, said he only heard it from others.

Monther Etaky, a resident of eastern Aleppo, said he also heard reports of summary killings and knows of three families who were reportedly killed.

The U.N.'s children agency said Tuesday that there could be more than 100 unaccompanied children trapped in building under fire in eastern Aleppo, citing a report from an unnamed doctor in the city. Regional director Geert Cappalaere said UNICEF is concerned over the unverified reports of "extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children."

The U.N.'s human rights office said it has received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighborhoods of the rapidly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville said the reports recount pro-government forces entering homes and killing some civilians "on the spot." He told reporters in Geneva that the reports came in late Monday evening and that he doesn't know exactly when the killings took place.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement late Monday that he is alarmed over reports of "atrocities" against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in the past hours in Aleppo. While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify the reports, the U.N. chief said he conveyed his grave concern to the relevant parties.

A press release by the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported that tens of civilians were shot dead on Monday in al-Ahrar Square in Kallaseh neighborhood, and also in Bustan al-Qasr, by government forces and their allies, including an Iraqi Shiite militia known as al-Nujabaa.

The dramatic appeals for sparing civilian lives came a day after the Syrian military announced it now holds 99 percent of the former rebel neighborhoods of Aleppo, signaling an impending end to the rebels' four-year hold over parts of the city.

Retaking Aleppo would be Assad's biggest victory yet in the civil war. But a government win in Aleppo does not end the conflict — significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad family's four-decade rule.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Observatory said hundreds of bodies are still under the rubble.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged all those fighting in Aleppo to spare civilian lives. It said that thousands of people in eastern Aleppo with no part in the violence "have literally nowhere safe to run."

Russia, which has been a key ally of Assad, said the rebels are holding out in a neighborhood roughly the size of 3 square kilometers (1.16 square miles).

Earlier Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande pressed for Russia to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in rebel-held parts of the city, saying the Aleppo "humanitarian situation ... is unacceptable."

He said the Russians "will be responsible for a situation that they helped create if they do nothing to allow access for humanitarian aid."

Russia said it was fed up with calls for a halt to the fighting, singling out the Obama administration, which has spent months trying to negotiate a cease-fire.

"We are tired of hearing this whining from our American colleagues in the current administration that we need to immediately halt military action," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists during a visit to Serbia.

Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Zeina Karam contributed from Beirut.</s>BEIRUT — As Syrian forces poised for the final sweep to take the last rebel holdouts in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, world leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals that the lives of thousands of civilians who have "nowhere safe to run" be spared and that government troops fighting to capture what's left of the rebel enclave refrain from atrocities.

The U.N.'s human rights office said it has received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighborhoods of the increasingly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville said the reports recount pro-government forces entering homes and killing some civilians "on the spot" in the former rebel enclave. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he said the reports came in late the previous evening and that he doesn't know exactly when the killings took place.

The reports, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforce concerns of mass casualties in eastern Aleppo in the final hours of the battle for the city, which has been split into a rebel and government-held part since 2012.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement late Monday that he is alarmed over reports of "atrocities" against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in the past hours in Aleppo. While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the U.N. chief said he conveyed his grave concern to the relevant parties.

Several residents and opposition activists have told The Associated Press that government forces were carrying out summary killings of rebels in the streets in neighborhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military flatly denied the claims, saying such allegations were "a desperate attempt" to try gain international sympathy.

Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said people killed and wounded are left on the streets.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of bodies are still under the rubble.

A press release by the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources have reports that tens of civilians were shot dead on Monday in al-Ahrar Square in Kallaseh neighborhood, and also in Bustan al-Qasr, by government forces and their allies, including allegedly the Iraqi Shiite militia known as al-Nujabaa.

The dramatic appeals for sparing civilian lives came a day after the Syrian military announced it now holds 99 percent of the former rebel neighborhoods of Aleppo, signaling an impending end to the rebels' four-year hold over parts of the city.

Retaking Aleppo would be President Bashar Assad's biggest victory yet in the country's civil war. Aleppo has long been regarded as a major gateway between Turkey and Syria.

But a government win in Aleppo does not end the conflict — significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated waste-land. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed.

The International Committee of the Red Cross also on Tuesday urged all fighting in Aleppo to spare civilian lives. It said that thousands of people in eastern Aleppo with no part in the violence "have literally nowhere safe to run."

"In order for this to happen, we appeal to the parties to put humanity ahead of military objectives", said ICRC's head of delegation in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is currently in Aleppo. "We stand ready to oversee the implementation of any mutual agreement that puts civilians first. We cannot urge this strongly enough: this must happen."

In Moscow, which has been Assad's major ally in the war, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday that rebels are holding out a neighborhood roughly the size of 3 square kilometers (1.16 square miles).

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus' called for an immediate cease-fire and if that is too late, he called on the international community, European countries, regional countries and Turkey to organize an international aid convoy to people in need in Aleppo.

French President Francois Hollande pressed for Russia to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in rebel-held parts of the city, saying the Aleppo "humanitarian situation ... is unacceptable."

The French leader said 120,000 people were being "held hostage, there is no other word for it — who are victims of bombing, who are victims of repression" in Aleppo and that everything must be done to allow the population's evacuation.

"Without the Russians, there is no Syrian regime that can carry out operations" on the scale of what is happening in Aleppo, Hollande added, saying that the Russians "will be responsible for a situation that they helped create if they do nothing to allow access for humanitarian aid."</s>Activists protest outside the Russian embassy in Amman on Tuesday in solidarity with civilians in Aleppo (Photo by Muath Freij)

AMMAN — The scenes of death and destruction in eastern Aleppo prompted Katrina Sammour, who holds a Russian passport, to picket her country’s embassy on Tuesday in protest against Moscow’s role in the military operations in Aleppo.

She was among around100 Jordanians and Syrians who gathered near the Russian embassy in Amman to voice support for civilians in Aleppo.

“I feel unable to do anything, and this is the least we can do. No one is doing anything and none of the Arab regimes are condemning what is happening,” Sammour said.

Protesters held placards with slogans in solidarity with civilians in Aleppo while others showed pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a show of anger at Russia’s role in the offensive on Aleppo’s eastern neighbourhoods.

Baker Abu Al Ras, who is from Aleppo and his family are under siege there, accused Russia of killing the Syrian people.

“Russia is striking Aleppo, not the Free Syrian Army nor the opposition. Russia is the criminal one,” the 21-year-old charged.

Roz Sari, a Jordanian, said the killing has to stop.

“We cannot just stay watching what is happening. At least we are with the Syrian people and Aleppo residents, and we want them to know that they are not alone,” she added.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 415 civilians and 364 rebels have been killed in rebel-held areas in Aleppo since November 15.</s>Residents of east Aleppo have sent out desperate messages imploring the international community to save civilians in besieged districts of the Syrian city, as forces loyal to the president, Bashar al-Assad, bear down on the remaining enclaves still controlled by the opposition.

The rebellion of Aleppo appeared to be in its death throes as Assad’s troops and Iranian-backed militias took control of the vast majority of the territory once held by the opposition, coming within sight of a crucial victory in the war that has cost tens of thousands of lives over four and a half years.

The Syrian army and its allies are in the “last moments before declaring victory” in Aleppo, a Syrian military source told Reuters, after rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground.

The bombardment of rebel areas of the city continued nonstop on Monday.

“The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They [REBELS]don’t have much time. They either have to surrender or die,” Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the government’s Aleppo security committee, told reporters in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed district of the city.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, expressed “grave concern” over unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children.

In a statement, Mr Ban stressed the obligation of all parties “to protect civilians and abide by international humanitarian and human rights law. This is particularly the responsibility of the Syrian government and its allies.”

The UN humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, said the Syrian and Russian governments must be held responsible for any atrocities committed by militias loyal to Assad.

The situation was described as a kind of “doomsday” by one resident, Abdulkafi al-Hamdo, a teacher living in the besieged districts who has been documenting the destruction of the city online for months.

The Syrian army said it now controlled 98 per cent of eastern Aleppo, where residents said they would face death if they stayed to face bombardment by artillery shells and fighter jets or torture and disappearance if they surrendered.

“Aleppo is being destroyed and burned completely,” said Mohammad Abu Rajab, a doctor in the besieged areas of the city, in a voice message.

“This is a final distress call to the world. Save the lives of these children and women and old men. Save them. Nobody is left. You might not hear our voice after this. It is the last call, the last call to every free person in this world. Save the city of Aleppo.”

The advance by Assad loyalists was preceded by some of the most intense bombardment of the war, with non-stop artillery shelling and numerous airstrikes through Sunday night and Monday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the regime had gained control of 90 per cent of east Aleppo after seizing the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Saeed and Saliheen.

Thousands of people had fled the fighting towards government-controlled areas, it added. Thousands more are hemmed inside a dwindling pocket of land in the face of a lightning advance by the regime and crumbling rebel lines.

The observatory’s director, Rami Abdurrahman, said more than 60 civilians and fighters were killed in rebel-held neighbourhoods of Aleppo on Monday alone.

Mr Al-Hamdo implored the international community to save the children remaining in east Aleppo.

“I can tweet now but I might not do it forever. please save my daughter’s life and others. this is a call from a father,” he tweeted.

A local journalist whose organisation documented civilian deaths in the city said he feared imminent arrest as the regime closed in.

“We are terrified of the invasion,” he said. “There are only five neighbourhoods left and the regime is thinking of invading what’s left of the city and arresting all of us. May God grant us that we live longer so we can meet one day.”

A nurse whose civilian father and brother were killed by artillery shells within the space of a few hours said: “I cannot leave because I’m medical staff which means a terrorist in the eyes of the regime.

“I cannot forgive. It is better that God takes my life than to live in humiliation under those who murdered most of my family and my neighbours, and destroyed my country and street and robbed my home.”

“People are under the rubble alive and no one can save them,” said Mr Hamdo. “Some people are injured in the streets and no one can go to help them. The cries and fear of women and children [ARE]heard from the streets.”

The latest advances by Assad’s forces have brought them closer than ever to a major victory in the war. Aleppo, Syria’s former industrial and commercial capital, has been divided between rebel and government forces since 2012 and its fate has long been seen as a signal of the war’s momentum.

East Aleppo, which was estimated to house a quarter of a million civilians before the latest government offensive, has been under a tight siege for months. Rebel offensives to try to break the blockade have failed.

Many residents have been living in great deprivation. They have dwindling food stocks and a lack of fuel, water and electricity, and there are no functioning hospitals after they were bombed in the campaign.

On Monday, the rebels were reported to be contemplating an offer of withdrawal from Aleppo that had Russian and US backing. Reuters said that, under the terms of the deal received by some rebel officials, they would be allowed to leave bearing light arms to any area in Syria.

But Russia denied that an agreement had been reached and an opposition official contacted by the Guardian said his faction, one of the largest in Aleppo, had not received the offer. He said Russia was not interested in a deal that would spare civilians while pro-Assad forces made gains on the ground.

The rebels had proposed a five-day ceasefire to evacuate civilians and the wounded, but that was ignored by Assad and his allies.

“Let us be clear, the regime is insistent on committing a massacre in order to achieve a historic victory against its own people with Russian and Iranian aid,” said Bassam Mustafa, a member of the political office of the Noureddine al-Zenki militia group.

“Therefore, they will not accept any [offer of] safe passage. We challenge them for the thousandth time to discuss anything that is for the good of the civilians that they have been bombing with barrel bombs and chlorine.”

Even though the loss of Aleppo would be a huge blow to the opposition, which will be bereft of any major urban stronghold, there are doubts that the government will be able to consolidate its victories, which have been backed by Russian airpower, on the ground.

On Sunday, the government lost control of the historic city of Palmyra for a second time to Islamic State fighters, despite a wave of intense bombings by the Russian air force the night before.</s>world

Updated: Dec 12, 2016 19:06 IST

At least 34 civilians, including 11 children, were killed on Monday in a series of air strikes on villages held by the Islamic State group in central Syria, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a barrage of air raids hit Oqayrabat and other nearby villages in the central province of Hama at dawn.

“There are dozens of people wounded, and the toll may rise because some of them are in critical condition and because of the lack of medical capacities,” the Britain-based Observatory said.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said he could not confirm if the strikes on the east of Hama province were carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes.

Read | ‘Where am I? What happened?’ Syrians return to see ravaged homes in Aleppo

He noted cases of suffocation but could not confirm accusations of a chemical attack.

A panel set up by the UN, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism, has determined during a year-long probe that Syrian government forces carried out three chlorine gas attacks on villages in 2014 and 2015.

The panel consisting of UN and experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also found that the IS group -- which captured a large swathe of Iraq and Syria in 2014 -- was behind a mustard gas attack in Syria in August 2015.

Oqayrabat lies northwest of Palmyra, the ancient desert city that was recaptured by IS at the weekend.

Syrian government forces, backed by their Russian ally, had driven IS from Palmyra in May.

Read | Another 4,000 Syrians flee fighting against Islamic State in Aleppo

First Published: Dec 12, 2016 19:06 IST</s>Citing local sources near the site of the attack in eastern Hama province, northwest of the ancient city of Palmyra, the Observatory said there were cases of suffocation and that dozens had been wounded during heavy rocket fire on the area.

The dead included 28 children, the Observatory said.

Local sources had reported seeing dead bodies with no visible injuries, said the Observatory, a British-based group that monitors the war in Syria through a network of contacts across the country.

The reported attack came from the air and took place near the town of Uqairabat, which lies on a main road leading south into Palmyra from government-held territory, the Observatory said, without specifying who might have been responsible.

Amaq, a news service linked to Islamic State, said in an online statement that 20 people had died and around 200 were injured from breathing problems "as a result of a Russian air attack with sarin gas".

Ahmad al-Dbis, of the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), said about 86 people had died, and about 250 were injured in the attacks on Monday.

UOSSM is a coalition of international aid agencies which funds hospitals in Syria. It used to work with staff in the area of the attack before Islamic State took over.

Both the Syrian army and Russia have denied using chemical weapons.

U.N. investigators established that sarin gas was used in parts of the rebel-held Ghouta suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus in 2013. The United States accused Syria's government of conducting the attack, which it estimated killed around 1,400 people, but Damascus denied responsibility and blamed rebels.

A United Nations investigation this year found that the Syrian military had used chlorine in attacks on rebels and that Islamic State had also used chemical weapons in attacks.

Damascus has said that the conclusions of that investigation were wrong.

On Sunday, Islamic State militants recaptured Palmyra despite dozens of Russian air strikes attempting to push them back. It had previously been driven from the city in March.</s>Ismail Abdallah, a member of the Syrian Civil Defence, also called the White Helmets, told CNN that al-Fardous neighborhood has been captured by Syrian government forces, while some areas of resistance remain in parts of the city.

"There is a mass exodus of terrified civilians fleeing from al-Fardous, al-Jaloom, al-Salheine and areas that have been captured today to other areas such as al-Mashhad and Salah Eddiene," he said.

"It is going to be a very difficult situation because there is no place for all these fleeing civilians.

"We believe there are a large number of civilian casualties as a result of this intensifying offensive and White Helmets rescue workers are unable to move to reach any of these areas," Abdallah added.

Syrian state television painted a different picture of the day's events, broadcasting video that it said showed residents celebrating in the streets after government forces took control of a neighborhood. READ: What you need to know about Aleppo Earlier, Syria's state-run news agency SANA and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed that the neighborhood of al-Sheikh Saeed in southeastern Aleppo had been captured by the Syrian military. The neighborhood was taken from rebel forces with the assistance of government-allied groups. As the situation in Aleppo changes rapidly, CNN will update the map with information from sources on the ground. Large numbers of civilians are also reportedly fleeing the al-Sukkari neighborhood after intense shelling. The exodus of residents coincided with regime forces advancing. The SANA report states that army units are "continuing the operations and targeting the remnants of the terrorists who fled away towards" the al-Sukkari and al-Fardous neighborhoods. In addition, there are reports of civilian casualties as a result of the shelling, according to media organizations with teams in Aleppo. The international community has failed to broker a ceasefire for the city, which appears on the brink of falling back into regime control. The government controls western Aleppo and its troops have made significant territorial gains in the east since its forces entered the enclave by ground on November 27, backed by continual airstrikes. The government has now taken more than three-quarters of the area. Rebel groups held eastern Aleppo for more than four years after the Arab Spring uprising, and a Syrian regime siege on the area had essentially cut it off from the outside world, sparking a humanitarian crisis there. A Syrian family leaves the area following a reported airstrike on Friday, September 23, in rebel-held east Aleppo. Following the airstrike, recovery teams from Syria Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, began working to free the trapped and recover the dead, including small children. This photo was released by the volunteer group Syria Civil Defense of the bodies of a man, with his knee pulled up near his face, and a child covered in dust after they were killed in the airstrike. The volunteers work to recover the bodies the man and child. A Syrian man carries the body of his nephew, recovered from the rubble. The volunteers remove an infant's body from the destroyed building. A Syrian woman carries the body of her infant after he was recovered. Now civilians are fleeing by the tens of thousands as the relentless airstrikes leave little hope of survival. An estimated 10,000 people fled over the weekend, civilians told CNN -- a number backed by Russian officials. SANA put the figure at around 20,000. READ: Syrian regime forces seize most of old city CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen witnessed thousands of civilians walking through the southern front lines, many gaunt with fatigue and malnutrition, as the children among them cried in fear. It's difficult to know how many civilians remain trapped in eastern Aleppo, but 100,000 are estimated to still be living in the enclave. Some are beginning to return to neighborhoods retaken by government forces, faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their homes and communities.</s>Syrian activists say government forces have detained 6,000 teenage and adult men trying to escape an assault on rebel-held eastern Aleppo since mid-November.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing contacts inside the Syrian security apparatus, said Tuesday that the detainees are being pressed into military service. Syria has compulsory military service laws.

The Syrian army suffers from severe manpower shortages and has come to rely on militias from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.

The observatory said the detainees are wanted for dodging military service. It added that officials were looking for men with cleanly shaven faces who may have fought on the side of rebels.

Rebel defenses for eastern Aleppo crumbled last month in the face of the government's massive ground offensive. The insurgents are now confined to a tiny enclave that is expected to be overrun soon.

Earlier, Syrian rebels said an agreement has been reached with Russia for a cease-fire in Aleppo to evacuate remaining civilians and rebels from besieged districts.

Osama Abu Zayd, a legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the cease-fire went into effect Tuesday evening.

He says the first batch will begin evacuating later Tuesday.

Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, confirmed the cease-fire and said the goal is to evacuate civilians and rebels from besieged areas.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government or Russia on the reports.</s>BEIRUT – The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):

A news agency linked to the Islamic State group and a Syrian activist say airstrikes on an IS-held central region killed at least 20 people.

The Aamaq news agency says poison gas was used in the attack on the eastern side of the central province of Hama, killing 20 while 200 others suffered breathing problems.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 34 people, including 11 children and eight women, were killed in the attack.

Monday's airstrikes on the Okeirbat region came a day after IS militants re-occupied Palmyra, taking the ancient central city from government troops.

In August, a report by an international team concluded that both the Syrian government and IS carried out chemical attacks in Syria during 2014 and 2015

A Syrian rebel spokesman says opposition fighters are retreating in eastern Aleppo under intense government fire that is putting thousands of civilians at risk.

Bassam Haj Mustafa, a senior member of the Nour el-Din el-Zinki group who is in contact with fighters inside the city, said Monday that the collapse of the rebel enclave is "terrifying."

He says the fighters are doing "their best to defend what is left."

The Syrian military says it has retaken 98 percent of eastern Aleppo, which the rebels seized in 2012. The opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebels still hold around 7 percent of eastern Aleppo.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled to government-held western Aleppo since the offensive began earlier this month, but thousands remain trapped in the rebel stronghold.

Turkish media says the air force is pounding Islamic State targets in northern Syria and has dropped leaflets calling on residents to leave a militant stronghold there.

The private Dogan news agency said Monday the armed forces had dropped leaflets on al-Bab, the next target of a campaign by Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces.

The leaflets urge civilians to flee to secure areas, saying "God willing, victory is near." They urge residents to "not let the Daesh terror, which serves the devil, exploit you," referring to IS by an Arabic acronym.

Images of the Arabic and Turkish language pamphlets were also circulated on social media. There was no comment from the army.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says the military has hit more than 138 IS-related targets in northern Syria, including 29 in al-Bab and its vicinity.

Turkish troops and allied Syrian forces crossed into northern Syria earlier this year to drive IS and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces out of a strategic area along the border.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says the unwillingness of the United States to work with Moscow in Syria contributed to the loss of the ancient city of Palmyra to the Islamic State group.

Dmitry Peskov told journalists Monday that "the U.S. does not want to cooperate," adding that "cooperation would have probably allowed us to more effectively avoid such attacks from terrorists."

Syrian troops aided by Russian airstrikes drove IS from Palmyra in March, but the militants stormed back into the city over the weekend, forcing the army to retreat despite a wave of Russian airstrikes.

The Syrian government and Russia had been focused on Aleppo, where they are close to defeating rebels that have held the eastern half of the northern city for four years.

Peskov said many of the IS fighters involved in the Palmyra assault had recently left the Iraqi city of Mosul, where U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have been waging a nearly two-month-old offensive against the militants.

Syria's military says it has gained control of 98 percent of eastern Aleppo, leaving only a tiny enclave packed with rebels and civilians.

The military statement Monday said pro-government forces have seized control of al-Fardous, one of the largest neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo, which has been held by the rebels since 2012.

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-run monitoring group, said the fighting is ongoing in the district.

Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes and militias from across the region launched a large-scale offensive on eastern Aleppo earlier this month and are on the verge of driving the rebels from the city. Doing so would hand President Bashar Assad his greatest victory yet in the 5 ½-year civil war.

Syria's state media and an opposition monitoring group say that government troops and allied militias have seized a wide strip on the southern edge of Aleppo from rebels, closing in on tens of thousands of civilians squeezed into the center of the city.

State TV says the Syrian forces fully secured Sheikh Saeed neighborhood — an area interspersed with agricultural fields along the southern stretch of the rebel enclave — on Monday, after days of intense clashes.

The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights estimates the fall of Sheikh Saeed leaves rebels enclosed in a small area in central Aleppo that's only 10 percent of what rebels used to control.

Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to be still trapped in that area, accessible only through government-monitored crossing points.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that suspected Syrian government or Russian warplanes conduct a series of air raids on Oqayrabat and other nearby villages in the Hama Governorate at dawn, killing at least 34 civilians, including 11 children.