DAMASCUS, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles raged Tuesday between the Turkey-backed rebels and the al-Qaida-linked militants in the rebel-controlled areas in the western countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria, a war monitor reported.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, attacked areas under the control of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front in the western countryside of Aleppo, capturing two towns in that area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Two children were killed in the infighting, said activists, adding that the Ansar al-Din, another rebel group, tried to meddle to defuse the tension and end the infighting among the rebels in western Aleppo.

The rebels in the western countryside of Aleppo clashed in October, 2018 before tension sparked last month when five HTS militants were killed by the Turkey-backed rebels in northern Syria.

In general, lawlessness is rampant in the last remaining rebel-held areas in Idlib Province in northwestern Syria as well as in the western countryside of Aleppo.

The Syrian army repeatedly said that all Syrian areas will return under government control.