Rebels overrun key Aleppo base

Rebels seized control of a key air base in Aleppo province on Tuesday, marking another major advance after overrunning a string of villages in Latakia province, the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect. The rebel successes come after a string of battlefield setbacks in recent months at the hands of government forces in the central city of Homs and in the town of Qusayr in Homs province.