Building collapses in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, kills 9 people

A building collapsed in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, killing at least nine people, including three children, the Syrian state television reported.

The TV said the illegally built, five-story building in Aleppo's southern neighbourhood of Fardous collapsed in the evening on Wednesday. It said five women, three children and an elderly man were killed.

The report also said two people were injured and seven nearby buildings were evacuated for fear they might collapse as well. Search operations were still ongoing amid the rubble in case more people might be buried under the debris.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known.

Fardous was a rebel-held neighbourhood until December 2016, when government forces with the help of Russia and Iran captured eastern parts of the city, which had been held by insurgents for four years.

Many buildings in Aleppo were completely destroyed or damaged during Syria's 11-year conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million.

Aleppo is Syria's largest city and was once its commercial center.