Emaciated animals rescued from zoo in war-torn Syria

Animal welfare group Four Paws has launched another high-risk animal rescue operation this time from a zoo in war-torn Northern Syria.

With the help of a team of local vets and security guards, the group entered the "Magic World" amusement park on the outskirts of Aleppo three days ago and successfully evacuated nine animals including three lions, two tigers, two Asian black bears and two hyenas.

Aleppo has been the scene of some of heaviest fighting in Syria's six-year civil war and access to the zoo has been impossible until now.

The severely malnourished and traumatised animals were loaded on to trucks and transported to the Turkish border.

The animals will be taken to a rescue centre near the Turkish city of Bursa where they'll receive medical treatment.

For Four Paws Director of Project Development Dr Amir Khalil getting the animals to the Turkish border was a great relief.

"I'm very happy that the animals are here, but we still have another 1200km to go until we can say we have done our job," he said.

It's the second time Four Paws has successfully freed zoo animals from a warzone.

Three months ago the group launched another high-risk operation across the border in Mosul in Iraq to rescue a lion and bear.

New Zealand cameraman Anton Leach was part of the group that helped get the animals to safety and said any such operation was fraught with danger.

"We are a target. We are people who Isis would like to capture and extort money out of. It's pretty scary," he said at the time.

Four Paws says they're thrilled about their latest success but say more animals are still trapped at the partially destroyed zoo in Syria and will also need to be rescued.