Heavy clashes at Syrian army base, violating Eid ceasefire

Heavy fighting broke out around a Syrian military base on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, in the first major violation of a ceasefire marking the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The Observatory said rebel fighters were trying to storm the base, which is less than 1 km (half a mile) from the main north-south highway linking Damascus to Aleppo, and President Bashar al-Assad's forces had fired artillery at a nearby village. (Reuters)