A rebel fighter sits atop a tank at the front line against forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Ratian village, north of Aleppo February 17, 2015. Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army started an offensive there, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. The Syrian army, backed by allied militia, had captured areas north of Aleppo on Tuesday in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said was an attempt to cut off insurgent supply lines to Syria’s second city. Picture taken February 17, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah (SYRIA – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)