Rebels capture post on home territory

BEIRUT — Rebels captured a major army post in the southern city of Daraa Friday after nearly two weeks of intense fighting, as battles raged between troops and opposition forces in the province that borders Jordan, activists said.

Daraa, the provincial capital of a region that carries the same name, is the birthplace of the uprising against President Bashar Assad that started 27 months ago.

Rebels hope to one day launch an offensive from the area to take the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said Islamic militants led by members of the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, captured the checkpoint after a twoweek siege.

Wire services