THOUSANDS of insurgents in Syria have reportedly made significant advances on government-held areas in the country’s north-west.

Activists and fighters claimed today that insurgents have reached the outskirts of Syria’s second largest city Aleppo and wrested control of several strategic towns and villages along the way.

Syria’s media said projectiles from insurgents landed in the student accommodations at Aleppo’s university in the city centre, killing four people, including two students.