Syrian jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies reached the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo Friday after staging two car bomb attacks, as they pressed a major offensive against government troops.

"Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions... were able to enter the outskirts of the Al-Hamdaniya and New Aleppo neighbourhoods of the city of Aleppo after carrying out twin suicide attacks with two booby-trapped cars," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

It was the first time the city has been attacked by opposition forces since 2016, when they were ousted from Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods following a grueling military campaign in which Syrian government forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.

Witnesses in Aleppo city said residents have been fleeing neighborhoods on the western edge of the city because of missiles and exchanges of fire. The government did not comment on insurgents breaching city limits.

Meanwhile, Syria’s military said that its forces are repelling a major offensive by militant groups in Aleppo and Idlib countryside, inflicting heavy losses on the attackers.

“Our forces continue to repel the major offensive launched by armed terrorist groups,” the army said in a statement, adding that it was “able to retake control of certain positions.”