REBEL groups renewed their assault on Syria’s Aleppo yesterday with artillery fire raining down on residential areas and huge suicide vehicle bombs.

The Army of Conquest — an alliance of the al-Qaida affiliated Levant Conquest Front (LCF) — resumed their attempt to occupy the city of 1.5 million residents after a lull of several days.

Towering clouds of smoke and dust rose over the city’s western districts after three explosive-packed armoured vehicles detonated, one driven by a jihadi recruit from Saudi Arabia.