Airstrikes again pound rebel-held east Aleppo

Airstrikes hit several districtsin rebel-held eastern Aleppo for the first time in weeks onTuesday as warplanes rumbled overhead, according to the Syrian government and sources on the ground.

Syrian government officials confirmed to CBC News that heavy airstrikes had hit at least three neighbourhoods.

It's allairstrikesand parachute bombs.Civil defence officialIbrahimAbual-Laith

The strikes killed at least 10 people, according to the Britain-based SyrianObservatory for Human Rights. The plume from a large explosion was caught on camera by the CBC News crew in Aleppo.

Strikes hit the Haidariya, Hanano and Sakhourneighbourhoods, said civil defence official Ibrahim Abual-Laith. The observatory said the strikes also hit the SheikhFaris, Bab al-Nairab, Qadi Askar and al-Qaterji districts.

It added that some of the strikes were carried out byhelicopters dropping barrel bombs.

"Our houses are shaking from the pressure. Planes aresoaring above us and the bombardment is around us," saidModarShekho, a resident of eastern Aleppo.

Aleppo has become the fiercest front in Syria's 5-year war, pitting President Bashar al-Assad'sforces supported by Russia, Iran and Shia militias againstmostly Sunni rebels including some backed by Turkey, the U.S.and Gulf monarchies.

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The city has been divided for years between agovernment-held western sector and rebel-held eastern districts.

The army and its allies managed to besiege eastern Aleppothis summer and launched a big offensive backed by a heavybombardment in September, but in recent weeks Moscow has said itwas observing a pause in airstrikes.

"It's all airstrikes and parachute bombs. Today, thebombing is violentThere hasn't been this kind of attack inmore than 15 days," said civil defence official Ibrahim Abual-Laith in Aleppo.

The airstrikesresumeas Russiaannounced a major air offensive in Syria thatRussian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigusaid is aimed atammunition depots, training camps and armaments factories in the rebel-held province of Idlib and the central province of Homs. He did notimmediately mention Aleppo.

Syrian activists also reported strikes inIdlib andHoms.

The Russian blitz began hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump discussed Syria over the phone and agreed on the need to combine efforts in the fight against extremism.

Four weeks ago, Russia said it would halt weeks of deadly airstrikes to allow rebels and supporters to leave eastern Aleppo. The rebels refused to take up the offer and the United Nations failed to negotiate the delivery of aid into the besieged area.