The move puts about 250,000 people living there under siege.
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The IS emerged from the chaos, seizing large parts of Syria and Iraq, committing widespread atrocities, and organising and inspiring attacks across the Middle East and in Western cities.
France said on Thursday that a three-day nationwide ceasefire announced by the Syrian army was not good enough and it was unrealistic to expect a revival of peace talks without a long-term truce.
Away from the carnage – state TV broadcast images it said showed President al-Assad and his family in Homs visiting the homes of Syrian soldiers who were wounded during the war.
In that same 72-hour period, dozens were killed and injured by rebel shelling in the government-held parts of Aleppo and air strikes on a holiday spot in Idlib province.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that forces loyal to the regime have made advances in Al-Mallah farms, northwest Aleppo and this has brought them to within one kilometre of the road. At least five people were killed, according to the Observatory.
The assault was “a response to the (government) attempts to advance”, Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters.
The UN called on all parties in the Syrian conflict to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access remains open in all areas, particularly eastern Aleppo. It wasn’t clear whether it was Syrian or Russian warplanes that carried out the airstrikes on Darkoush.
As well as the fighting in Aleppo, the Observatory said at least four civilians were killed in regime air strikes overnight on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of Damascus.
The Castello Road wraps around Aleppo’s eastern and northern edges and leads into rebel-controlled territory north of the battered city.
Assad is supported by Moscow, which launched air strikes in September, as well as Iranian troops and Lebanese Shi’ite Hezbollah fighters.
Aleppo is seen as an important stronghold by both government and rebel forces in the ongoing civil war, which has raged for six years.
Ten women and two children were among those killed in Idlib, where Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra too operates.
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Residents walk past damaged buildings in the rebel held area of Aleppo’s Bab al-Hadeed district, Syria, June 27, 2016. Malahifji of the Fastaqim rebel group said there was only a small Nusra Front presence in Aleppo.
