Syria rebels strike Assad's Alawite stronghold, seize airport

Syrian Islamist rebels have killed around 200 people in a three-day offensive in the mountain stronghold of President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect and driven hundreds of villagers to seek refuge on the Mediterranean coast, activists said on Tuesday.

The mainly Islamist rebel brigades led by two al Qaeda-linked groups have captured half a dozen villages on the northern edges of the Alawite mountain range, the activists say. The rebel strike into Alawite territory and their capture of a military airport north of Aleppo mark two major gains for Assad's foes after months of setbacks. (Reuters)