Eight years ago, Syria’s civil war shifted in President Bashar Al-Assad’s favor after a Russian blitzkrieg on Aleppo helped him regain control over the country’s second biggest city.

Syrian rebels have swept through parts of the country at lightning pace, taking control of the the second-largest city, Aleppo. But who are they and what are their aims?

On December 1, groups opposed to the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad completely captured Aleppo during an offensive. Thus, government forces lost control of the country's second-largest city for the first time in more than 10 years,

Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, is no longer under the iron fist of murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad for the first time since the civil war began.