Fighting rages in Syrian town over chemical weapons row
1 Aug 2013 11:11 PM GMT
Syrian troops attacked rebel positions outside Khan al-Assal on Wednesday as they seek to recapture the northern town at the centre of rival chemical weapons accusations, a watchdog said.
Fierce fighting erupted on the outskirts of the town, which the rebels seized on Monday of last week, inflicting heavy losses on the army, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The army lost 150 soldiers over two days, 50 of them summarily executed after their capture in an act condemned by the mainstream opposition leadership. The government has been keen to recapture the town, the last to fall out of its control in the western half of Aleppo province. The town witnessed a chemical weapons attack that killed 30 on 19 March.
Fierce fighting erupted on the outskirts of the town, which the rebels seized on Monday of last week, inflicting heavy losses on the army, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The army lost 150 soldiers over two days, 50 of them summarily executed after their capture in an act condemned by the mainstream opposition leadership. The government has been keen to recapture the town, the last to fall out of its control in the western half of Aleppo province. The town witnessed a chemical weapons attack that killed 30 on 19 March.
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