Faced with almost certain defeat in the city of Aleppo, Syrian rebel groups have promised to continue their war by adopting the guerrilla tactics of assassinations, armed raids and roadside bombs.

The four-year battle for control of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, is likely to end in the next few weeks as Syrian regime forces either advance into the remaining opposition neighbourhoods or rebel areas are forced to surrender as they run completely out of food and medicine.

Regime forces have now captured more than 60 per cent of rebel-held east Aleppo after they took the strategic district of Tariq al-Bab in fghting early on Saturday morning.

But rebel leaders say that the loss of territory will lead their forces to carry out more traditional insurgent operations against Bashar al-Assad’s troops as the regime tries to reassert full control over Aleppo for the first time since 2012.