BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents breached Syria’s largest city Friday and clashed with government forces for the first time since 2016, according to a war monitor and fighters, in a surprise attack that sent residents fleeing and added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars.

The fighting is a significant escalation since rebels launched a surprise offensive earlier this week, seizing towns and villages as they cut a path toward Syria’s second-largest city.

Syrian insurgents have breached Syria's city of Aleppo after blowing up 2 car bombs, activists and fighters say