Opposition: Syria rebels capture air base

[NewsCaster]

Osman Orsal / ReutersSmoke rises over the Syrian border town of Azmarin during clashes Friday between the Syrian army and rebels.By NBC News wire servicesBEIRUT -- Syrian rebels captured an air defense base east of the key city of Aleppo on Friday as government forces battled insurgents on several fronts across the country, anti-regime activists said.

Clashes were also taking place at a military barracks close to Maarat al-Nuaman, a town on the main highway to Aleppo that was seized by rebel forces earlier this week, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.


Aleppo, in the northwest of the country, is Syria's largest city and commercial hub. It has been fiercely contested since July.

The pro-opposition Observatory gave a death toll for Thursday of more than 260 people, including civilians and combatants on both sides in violence in the capital and the north, west and east.

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