page_title: Combat operations in 2012 during the Battle of Aleppo
section_title: Aleppo Square bombings, Old City and Eastern Aleppo fighting
hierarchical_section_title: Combat operations in 2012 during the Battle of Aleppo / Aleppo Square bombings, Old City and Eastern Aleppo fighting
caption_attribution_description: English: To avoid Syrian Army soldiers, FSA fighters in Aleppo use tunnels to travel between buildings.
context_page_description: Gunfire between rebels and security forces broke out on the night of 19 July 2012 in and around Salaheddine, a district in the city's southwest portion. It is unclear whether the district had a strong rebel presence before the battle began, or was captured by opposition fighters coming from the outskirts. Meanwhile, thousands of rebel soldiers from Aleppo's northern and eastern countryside began to move towards the city.
  Fighting in Salaheddine continued into the next day, as the Syrian Army began shelling rebel-controlled districts with artillery and attack helicopters. By the early afternoon of 21 July, rebel forces had penetrated Aleppo's northeastern neighborhoods of Haydariya and Sakhour, where they clashed with the Syrian Army. The fighting drove many residents to safer areas.
  On 22 July, fighting had spread from Salaheddine and neighboring Saif al-Dawla to al-Jameeliya and its surrounding neighborhoods near the city center, leading to a battle for the city's main intelligence headquarters. By the next day, rebels on the eastern front captured Helweniyeh, and according to a rebel commander, Hanano and the industrial area of Sheikh Najjar as well.
context_section_description: On 1 October 2012, SOHR said that more than 40 were either killed or injured by bombs in the Karm al-Jabal neighborhood in the al-Sha'ar area. Several neighborhoods were bombed including Shakur and Salaheddine. The next day, rebels claimed to have repulsed attacks in Hanano, and that they were in control of most of the Old City in the face of heavy artillery fire. The rebels appeared to be moving towards the city center.
  The pro-government Lebanese Al-Diyar newspaper announced that Assad had flown to Aleppo by helicopter at dawn and had ordered 30,000 additional government troops and 2,000 personnel carriers from Hama province (army units 5 and 6). SANA made no mention of any visit.
  On 3 October, three suicide car bombs exploded at the eastern corner of the central Saadallah Al-Jabiri Square killing 34. More than 122 people were reported to be heavily injured. Islamist militant group Jabhat Al-Nusra claimed responsibility. The bombs targeted the Officers' club and the nearby buildings of the Touristic Hotel and the historic Jouha Café. The hotel received major damage while the café was entirely destroyed. A small building within the Officers' club was ruined as well.
  Government troops killed two more would-be suicide bombers before they could detonate their explosives. Syrian state TV showed the bodies of three men wearing army uniforms at the bomb site. One of them appeared to be wearing an explosive belt with a timer tied to his wrist. Later, al-Qaeda-linked extremist militant group the Al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility. The group stated that it was carried out by suicide car bombers, followed by attackers disguised as Army soldiers. The UN Security Council unanimously condemned the bombings as a "terrorist attack".
  Rebel fighters attacked a political intelligence branch as well as an old vegetable market where a large number of troops were posted, according to the Observatory. Overnight, rebels reportedly destroyed two tanks in the city. The Army battled rebels in several neighbourhoods, including Saif al-Dawla and Sakhur. It also shelled the Bab al-Nayrab, Salaheddine, Mashhad, Bab al-Nasr and Sakhur districts. The fighting led to the destruction of an Army tank and the killing of several Army troops.
  On 5 October, state-run Syrian TV said that government forces "cleansed Sakhour of terrorists and mercenaries." After days of fighting, an AP correspondent said that the rebels lost control of several buildings in Saif al-Dawla, after close-quarter combat.
  Meanwhile, rebel fighters claimed to have made advances in the strategic district of Salaheddine, claiming that they had taken the square, lost it and then retaken it after a lengthy battle.
  An AFP correspondent reported intense street battles in Arkoub district. The insurgents had occupied health facilities and schools as makeshift bases. There were signs of strain from troops, with one officer admitting "the battle for Arkoub is as tough as the struggle for Hanano" last month. One soldier said he had not returned home once, to Homs, in three months. The neighborhoods of Bustan al-Qasr, al-Helk and al-Haydariya were bombed by Army forces.
  On 6 October, Syrian state television said that four Turks were among a group of foreign fighters that the army had killed there. Iranian Press TV claimed that the Army had captured the Shakour district, but the FSA said they repulsed the assault after heavy clashes.
  An AFP correspondent said that the Syrian Air Force was continuously bombing the Bab al-Hadid, Arkub and Shaar neighborhoods that surrounded the besieged Hanano barracks. Locals called it the worst fighting since the battle began. The BBC found a cache of ammunition manufactured in Ukraine and addressed to the Saudi Arabian Army. The ammunition was stored in a mosque used by the rebels. Saudi and Qatari were suspected of supplying ammunition to the rebels but not heavier weapons, such as anti-aircraft missiles, due to American concerns about extremists obtaining such equipment.
  On 9 October, rebels claimed control of the strategic town of Maarrat al-Nu'man, a town o
caption: To avoid Syrian Army soldiers, FSA fighters in Aleppo use tunnels to travel between buildings
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