Rebel Fire in Syria's Aleppo Kills 14, Wounds Dozens

A barrage of rocket fire from Syrian rebels killed at least 14 people and left dozens wounded Wednesday in government-held neighborhoods of divided Aleppo city, state media said.

Fighting struck the southern edges of the battered city Wednesday night as opposition fighters and regime forces gear up for a major protracted battle that could mark a turning point in the five-year war.

Syrian state news agency SANA said rebel fire on the regime-controlled district of Hamdaniyeh on Wednesday killed 13 people and wounded 25 others.

Rocket attacks on another government-held neighborhood killed one person and wounded 12 others earlier in the day.

SANA said Russian and government planes targeted "terrorist" positions in the city's south, as an AFP journalist in Aleppo said intense air strikes and artillery fire could be heard.

But it was unclear if the major push for control of the city had begun.

An estimated 1.2 million people live in zones controlled by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad in Aleppo, with about 250,000 people in the rebel-held eastern districts.

Residents across the city have been living in fear of competing sieges since fighting surged in late June over rival access routes into Aleppo.

Russia's military announced a three-hour daily halt of fighting starting on Thursday to allow humanitarian convoys to reach Aleppo, but the U.N.'s top aid official said it would not be enough.

The United Nations has called for a fully-fledged ceasefire or at least 48-hour weekly pauses for aid deliveries.

Once Syria's economic hub, Aleppo has been ravaged by fighting since mid-2012, just one year after the country's conflict erupted.

More than 290,000 people have been killed and millions have been forced to flee their homes in the five-year war.