Al Qaeda-linked rebels are making the news again.

The terrorists are advancing south towards the Syrian capital Damascus after capturing Aleppo.

Thousands of Syrian insurgents fanned out inside Aleppo in vehicles with improvised armor and pickups, deploying to landmarks such as the old citadel. This happened on Saturday, a day after they entered Syria’s largest city facing little resistance from government troops.

Syria’s president Bashar Al-Assad has vowed to “defeat the terrorists” after they took control of his country’s second-largest city.

The Mail Online reports: Syria’s armed forces said in a statement Saturday that to absorb the large attack on Aleppo and save lives, it has redeployed and is preparing for a counterattack. 

The jihadist-led rebels seized Aleppo airport and dozens of nearby towns on Saturday after overrunning most of Aleppo, a war monitor said.

Damascus-ally Moscow responded with its first air strikes on Aleppo since 2016 as the jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies pressed a lightning offensive they launched on Wednesday as a ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon.

The rebels are understood to be moving towards Damascus, with unconfirmed reports of shootings in the outskirts of the city, as rumours of a coup on al-Assad’s regime swirling.

They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists. The swift and surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for Syria’s President Bashar Assad and raised questions about his armed forces’ preparedness. The insurgent offensive launched from their stronghold in the country’s northwest appeared to have been planned for years