Aleppo cease-fire extended by three days

ALEPPO, Syria, May 7 (UPI) -- The cease-fire agreement reached between the United States and Russia in the Syrian province of Aleppo has been extended by three days.

According to Aljazeera, the U.S. State Department confirmed the agreement to extend the cease-fire for 72 hours beginning at midnight on Saturday.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the United States is committed to keeping the treaty in place "as long as possible."

"While we welcome this recent extension, our goal is to get to a point where we no longer have to count the hours and that the cessation of hostilities is fully respected across Syria," he said.

Russia said it withdrew about 30 aircraft including Su-25 planes from Syria on Wednesday.

The two sides originally agreed to a 48-hour partial cease-fire on Wednesday after violence began to ratchet back up following a nationwide cease-fire in February.

The treaty was intended to also include the areas surrounding Aleppo, but sporadic fighting continued amongst rebel groups including al-Qaida affiliate, the al-Nusra Front, which was not included in the cessation.