At least three civilians have been killed in a terrorist attack on the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo as militants struggle to advance further into the country’s most populated city.

The official SANA news agency said Saturday that 18 people were injured in the militant attack, which targeted the al-Qasr al-Baladi area in Aleppo.

The report said terrorists fired rockets from their positions in the Bustan al-Qasr area, which is located in the militant-held part of Aleppo. The attacks inflicted damage on the properties of the people living in the surrounding areas.

Fighting has raged over the control of Aleppo, Syria’s main business hub, with terrorist groups like the ISIL Takfiri militants intensifying assaults on civilians and security forces to advance into the government-held part of the city.

Aleppo is controlled by the government in the west and terrorists in the east. Fighting in Syria spread to the city in mid-2012.

At least 12 civilians were killed in a similar attack on residential areas of Aleppo on Thursday.

Earlier in the week, government forces launched an offensive into the eastern outskirts of Aleppo, killing scores of terrorists and destroying their hideouts in the area.

The violence fueled by Takfiri groups in Syria has claimed the lives of over 230,000 people since March 2011, according to reports.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says over 7.2 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict, while over three million others have fled the country due to the crisis.

MS/HSN/HMV