Slideshow: Struggle in Syria (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/46215100/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=46215100&wbSection=news)(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-120131-SyriaUnrest/ss-120131-syria-jc-tease.photoblog600.jpg) (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/46215100/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=46215100&wbSection=news)Str / APAnti-government clashes continue as Western and Arab nations launch a diplomatic offensive to halt the violence.Launch slideshowBy ReutersBEIRUT -- Rebels captured an airport used by Syria's military near the Iraqi border on Saturday, activists said, a move which they said would allow them to maintain their hold on the recently seized border town of Albu Kamal.
President Bashar Assad's forces have retaliated by bombing the airport with fighter jets, said Ziad al-Amir, a local activist.
Video published by rebel groups showed fighters patrolling a dusty desert air base in Syria's Deir al-Zor province. Plumes of gray smoke rose from some low concrete buildings as fighters examined several abandoned tanks.
Assad has been struggling to put down the 20-month-old revolt against his rule, which began as peaceful protests but has morphed into a civil war that has spread to most of the country. Activists say more than 38,000 people have died.
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