Syria rebels seize key military base

BEIRUT: Rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al- Assad on Saturday ( Sunday in Manila) seized a key air base in the southern Syrian province of Daraa after two weeks of fierce battles with loyalist troops, a watchdog said.

Meanwhile, in Damascus’s ancient Umayyad mosque, thousands of Assad supporters attended the funeral of pro- regime Sunni cleric Mohamed Saeed al- Bouti and his grandson, who died in a Thursday suicide bombing, killing some 50 people.

“Opposition fighters loyal to AlNusra Front, Al- Yarmuk Brigade and other rebel groups seized air defence Base 38 near the town of Saida, on the road linking Damascus to Amman, in the province of Daraa,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The seizure came “after 16 days of fighting,” said the Britain- based group.

At least seven rebels were killed in their final assault, said the Observatory, which also documented the deaths of at least eight regime troops including an officer.

“Dozens of prisoners were freed from the base’s headquarters,” it said.

Amateur video filmed by rebels and distributed by the Observatory showed the bloodied, mutilated corpse of a man identified as Mahmud Darwish, an officer.

Activists also distributed footage showing a group of men, most of them bearded, being set free.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground, said the rebels also captured a checkpoint in the Daraa town of Sahem al- Golan.

The Observatory later reported that rebels captured a second checkpoint east of Sahem al- Golan.

Amateur video showed rebels seizing at least two regime tanks and several military vehicles after they captured the checkpoint.

“I swear to God, we are coming for you, O Bashar,” a rebel said in a video distributed by anti- regime activists.

The rebel advances came days after rebels seized a border crossing on the frontier with Jordan, said the Observatory.

A security source in Damascus told AFP this week that Jordan was allowing jihadist fighters and arms bought by Saudi Arabia from Croatia to be smuggled into Syria.

In Quneitra, in the southwest, at least 35 rebels were killed on Wednesday and Thursday fighting troops loyal to Assad, said the Observatory. AFP