In October 1024, Salih's forces, led by Ibn Tawq, advanced against Aleppo and fought in sporadic engagements with the Fatimid troops of governors Thu'ban and Mawsuf. Salih arrived at Aleppo—after having sacked several Syrian coastal districts—with large numbers of Bedouin warriors on 22 November. He besieged the city, first camping outside of Bab al-Jinan, where his demand for the surrender of Ibn Abi Usama, the city's "qāḍī" (head Islamic judge), and other notables was refused. He then gathered more troops and engaged Aleppo's defenders for over fifty days, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. On 18 January 1025, the Bab Qinnasrin gate was opened to Salih by Salim ibn al-Mustafad, head of the city's surviving Hamdanid "ghilmān"; Ibn Mustafad had defected from the Fatimids after a quarrel with Mawsuf, and together with numerous townsmen and other former "ghilmān", he welcomed Salih, who granted the inhabitants "aman" (safe conduct). Afterward, Salih had the towers of the city walls demolished. According to the contemporary Egyptian chronicler al-Musabbihi, this led the local populace to believe Salih was preparing to hand over Aleppo to the Byzantines; fearing this, they fought alongside Fatimid troops and briefly ousted Salih's forces, killing some 250 Kilabi warriors. Zakkar views Salih's destruction of Aleppo's towers as a tactic that would enable an easier reconquest of the city should his troops be ousted.