PHOTO: Rebels in the rubble of the captured Military Research Center in west Aleppo (Hani Mohammed/AP)

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UPDATE 1200 GMT: Opposition activists and rebel commanders claim that the Syrian military has resorted to the use of chlorine gas to stop the rebel offensive in western Aleppo.

The chlorine was dropped in bombs on the Military Research Center in the al-Zahra district, taken by rebels last week.

Footage of victims being treated:

Gas masks are being distributed to fighters — in the video, to members of the Harakat Nur a-Din a-Zinki Brigade — but rebel sources say that they do not have enough to meet the threat of the air attacks.

Rebels pushing back regime ground operations after the alleged chlorine attacks:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Rebels continued their offensive on Monday night against the regime-held areas of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, as they attacked a large military complex in the al-Layramoun district.

The assault on the Air Force Intelligence building (see map) reportedly began with a suicide bomb by Jabhat al-Nusra. Unconfirmed claims said at least 25 Syrian soldiers and militia were killed.

The Air Force complex was heavily damaged earlier this year by rebel attacks, including a tunnel bomb, but remains a key position in the defense of the al-Layramoun and al-Zahra areas of western Aleppo.

Pro-Assad outlets asserted that the latest rebel attacks had been repelled. They said that Syrian forces carried out their own operations against the Military Research Center in the al-Zahra district, taken by the rebels at the outset of the offensive last week.

Two rebel coalitions, Fateh Halab and Ansar as-Sharia, are pursuing the offensive to seize regime territory in Aleppo, divided since July 2012.

The capture of the Military Research Center and nearby buildings opened up the regime-held New Aleppo area to rebels, although advances appear to have been limited so far. While heavy losses have been reported on both sides, the extent is unconfirmed.

Footage from a Jabhat al-Nusra outlet of the offensive:


Nusra front video of Al-zahra battle 7th July by awaisafzal50

Rebels fighting near the Military Research Center:

And amid the fighting, a moment of negotiation, as rebels and the regime swap their dead from the battles:

Video: View of Heavy Fighting in Daraa City Amid Rebel Offensive

A view from a nearby hill of the heavy fighting in Daraa in southern Syria, as a rebel offensive tried to take the regime-held areas of the city, including the Air Force intelligence branch (see map):

Rebels began the offensive two weeks ago, but have made limited advances so far in their quest to reunite the city.

Rebels Threaten to Cut Damascus Water in Response to Assault on Zabadani

Rebels have threatened to cut off much of Damascus’s drinking water if the regime and Hezbollah continues their offensive against the town of Zabadani.

The opposition controls the Ain al-Fijeh spring in Wadi Barada, near Zabadani and northwest of Damascus.

On Sunday, the Wadi Barada Shura Council said water piped from the spring to Damascus would be halted if the threat to Zabadani, held by rebels since January 2012, was not lifted:

Religion commands us to come to the aid of our brothers, and therefore, we the mujahedeen of Wadi Barada announce that we shall stand in one trench with our brothers in the proud town of Zabadani.

We will not spare any of our numbers or equipment to achieve this end.

Syrian rebels took Wadi Barada and the town of Ayn al-Fijeh in February 2012. There is a tenuous truce with the regime that the opposition retains control over the area in exchange for not cutting off the water supply and allowing regime technicians to continue to work.

However, rebels have suspended the agreement on at least three occasions to pressure the regime to stop shelling Wadi Barada, release detainees, or open access to aid. In November 2014, drinking water to Damascus was turned off for four days.

White Helmets Civil Defense Seeking Funds for Injured Rescue Workers and Families of Those Killed

The White Helmets civil defense force, created to protect and rescue civilians, has launched a campaign to treat injured volunteers and support the families of those who have died.

The “Hero Fund” is seeking $100,000 by July 19.

Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets, explains:

We’ve saved 21,976 lives from under the rubble.

Yet I know that we don’t have the money to pay for hospital treatment if one of us is injured. I know if a team member loses their life, we have nothing to give to their family.

Conflicting Accounts Over Hezbollah-Regime Assault on Zabadani

There are conflicting accounts over the state of the Hezbollah-regime attempt to take over Zabadani, northwest of Damascus.

State media and pro-Assad outlets continue to maintain that regime forces are closing on the center of the town, captured in January 2012 by the Free Syrian Army. However, there are now admissions of “perilous combat and high amounts of casualties for both sides“.

Pro-opposition accounts assert that the Hezbollah-regime force is having difficulty making any progress and has been pushed back in some areas in and near Zabadani, with bodies strewn on roads. The rebel faction Ahrar as-Sham said two regime colonels were killed as counter-attacks seized checkpoints.

See also Syria Daily, July 6: Hezbollah & Regime Close On Zabadani, One of 1st Towns Held by Opposition

The Syrian air force continues its assault, including barrel bombs, on the town:

Meanwhile, the rebel coalition Jaish al-Fateh has accused the Lebanese armed forces of supporting the Hezbollah-regime attacks with artillery and rocket fire.

Activists and observers on social media say there is substance to the allegations:

A local farmer, who escaped with his wife and four children, said:

The situation inside Zabadani is very bad. The shelling is nonstop, and the regime doesn’t want anyone left there to stay alive.

Rebels will fight to death to prevent Hezbollah from entering the town and planting its flag.