Activists: Insurgents Advance in Syria’s Aleppo

In This April 21, 2014, photo, provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian man holding a girl as he stands on the rubble of houses that were destroyed by Syrian government forces air strikes in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

BEIRUT—Activists in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo say rebels have advanced into a government-held neighborhood, a claim denied by state TV.

The reported push into Khaldiyeh neighborhood on Thursday came a day after insurgents captured the eastern neighborhood of Rashideen from troops and pro-government gunmen.

Aleppo-based activists Ahmad al-Ahmad and Bahaa Halaby said several factions entered Khaldiyeh, which has a large Kurdish community.

State TV denied the claims and aired a report from Khaldiyeh. It had earlier denied the capture of Rashideen without providing any proof.

State TV and the activists said Rashideen was relatively quiet Wednesday afternoon after heavy fighting overnight.

Aleppo, the country’s largest city and former commercial capital, has seen heavy fighting since rebels seized part of the city in 2012.