Syria: Rebels Capture Key Military Base

Rebels have taken control of a key military base in northern Syria after weeks of fighting with Government forces.

Rebels were pictured celebrating inside Taftanaz airport, close to helicopters and tanks which had been used to attack them.

"The fighting at Taftanaz military airport ended at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) and the base is entirely in rebel hands," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Soon afterwards, it was raided by government jets, the Britain-based Observatory said.

"Warplanes are bombing Taftanaz military airport in an attempt to destroy it," a statement said.

Capturing the base is an important gain for the rebels who control vast swathes of Syria's north and east.

They are battling President Bashar al Assad's forces in most major cities and on the outskirts of Damascus.

"This is the largest airbase to be seized since the revolt began nearly 22 months ago," Abdel Rahman said.

The rebels had previously taken the relatively small Hamdan airport in Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq in the east.

They had also taken Marj al Sultan military airport in Damascus province.

The news came as UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, met Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov and US undersecretary of state William Burns in Geneva.

After more than five hours of talks, Brahimi expressed an urgent need to end the conflict, but reported no major progress.

"We all stressed the need for a speedy end to the bloodshed and the destruction and all forms of violence in Syria," he told reporters.

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