SYRIAN President Bashar alAssad says the city of Aleppo is the “last card” in the foriegn aggressors’ hand — and they are betting thousands of their mercenaries on it.

In an interview with Cuban news agency Prensa Latina published on Thursday, Mr Assad said Russia’s intervention in the war last Autumn had turned the tide against proxy forces of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“The Turks and their allies like the Saudis and Qataris lost most of their cards on the battlefields in Syria,” he said.