DAMASCUS Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sought to shore up support from his allies Sunday, after a monitor said a shock rebel offensive saw government forces lose control of Aleppo for the first time since the start of the country's civil war. An Islamist-dominated rebel alliance attacked forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government on Wednesday, the same day a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah after two months of all-out

Tag-uri: Islam