Rebels battling the Syrian army and its allies near Aleppo said on Monday they had received new supplies of U.S.-made anti-tank missiles from states opposed to President Bashar Assad since the start of a major government offensive last week.

The rebels from three groups contacted by Reuters said new supplies had arrived in response to the attack by the army, which is backed up by Russian airstrikes and on the ground by Iranian fighters and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The delivery of the U.S.-made TOW missiles to rebels in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria appears to be an initial response to the new Russian-Iranian intervention. Foreign states supporting the rebels include Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.