A building collapsed in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo last night, killing at least nine people, including three children, the Associated Press reported, citing Syrian state television.

The television reported that the illegally built five-story building in Aleppo's southern district of Fardus collapsed last night.

According to media reports, five women, three children and an elderly man died.

The report also said two people were injured and seven nearby buildings were evacuated due to fears they too could collapse.

Search operations are still ongoing among the debris in case more people are buried under it.

The cause of the collapse is currently unknown.

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

Many buildings in Aleppo have been completely destroyed or damaged during Syria's 11-year conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million to flee their homes.

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and was the center of trade in the country, adds BTA.

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