Rebel militants were continuing their attacks on loyalist west Aleppo on Friday, hours before a Russian ultimatum to abandon the Syrian city was due to take effect.



The two-day push has involved the use of car bombs, reportedly driven by suicide attackers, as well as mortars fired into residential areas, and is believed to have killed at least 10 people.



As the Russian deadline drew near, the assault appeared to remain far from its goals of opening a supply line to the rebel-held east, which would allow in food, weapons and medicines, as well as securing a safe passage for those wishing to flee.



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The push is being led by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a jihadi group that shares much of al-Qaida’s worldview and to which rebels in the city have increasingly turned for help to break a crippling siege.



Opposition groups in Aleppo acknowledge the prevalence of jihadi groups in the current battle but insist they hold sway inside the city limits. The presence of jihadis in the opposition ranks has been highly contentious throughout the war for northern Syria, but has increasingly taken centre stage as diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire have intensified.



Russia had made separating jihadis from other opposition groups a condition of earlier failed truce efforts, a goal that the US had also backed. However, with the latest truce due to expire at sunset on Friday, those and other attempts to bring a ceasefire to Aleppo appear to have collapsed, and the city faces its biggest threat yet.



“The rebels don’t really seem to care about what is coming,” said a senior diplomat. “Separating them all is too hard for now, because they don’t want to be seen to surrender. And they think that the Russians have been bombing them for so long that whatever comes next won’t be any different. For them, it is all about west Aleppo.”



While the regime-held west of Syria’s second city remains largely unscathed by the war, in contrast to the ravaged east, opposition attacks have killed scores of people and led to some evacuations. Syrian officials said rocket fire into west Aleppo was indiscriminate and lethal.



Vladimir Putin has sent a Russian carrier group to the eastern Mediterranean, where it is expected to take part in a blitz on east Aleppo as early as this weekend, in the three days before the US election. There were reports on Friday that Moscow’s only aircraft carrier had broken down during the week long journey to the Syrian coast, but it is believed to be close enough to take part in any action, along with other Russian warships and submarines.



Thousands of pro-Assad forces, led by Iranian-backed militias, are travelling to west Aleppo in an attempt to cut off the attack, which is being led by around 400 militants. On Friday Russia launched air strikes in support of loyalist forces in the area.