BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say at least 21 Syrian rebels have been killed, and at least 30 government soldiers were killed or wounded, in fighting today in Syria’s contested northern province of Aleppo.

As today’s fighting continued, rockets slammed into a district held by government troops in the provincial capital, killing nine people.

Government forces have been shelling opposition districts with aircraft and artillery in recent months. In advance of next month’s presidential elections, troops loyal to President Bashar Assad have been trying to take as much territory as possible from the opposition in Aleppo and elsewhere.

The fighting in the province pits Assad’s troops against several rebel groups, including one with links to al-Qaida.

Aleppo has been divided between government and opposition-held areas since rebels launched an offensive there two years ago.

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APPHOTO BEI101: This Sunday, May 4, 2014 photo provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian men carrying the body of a man who was killed by a government forces airstrike, in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian state media say on Monday, May 5, 2014 rockets have slammed into a government-held district in the northern city of Aleppo, killing many people. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC) (5 May 2014)

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