NYT: Dozens of Syrian troops killed in Damascus strike

An attack early Sunday struck several critical military facilities in some of Syria's most tightly secured and strategic areas, killing dozens of elite troops stationed near the presidential palace, a high-ranking Syrian military official told the New York Times.

Rebels, opposition activists and residents said the strikes hit bases of the elite Republican Guard and storehouses of long-range missiles, in addition to a military research center that American officials have called the country’s main chemical weapons facility, the paper reported. (Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington)