Syrian state media: Rebels attack prison in northern city, leaving casualties among inmates

BEIRUT — Syria's state media say rebels have fired mortar shells at the central prison in an embattled northern city, killing and wounding several inmates.

The pro-opposition Aleppo Media Center says clashes are underway between rebels and government troops at the prison in Aleppo. The center says a large fire has broken out at the facility.

AP10ThingsToSee - In this image from amateur video obtained by a group called Ugarit News, a rebel runs from an explosion, Sunday, May 19, 2013 in Qusair, Syria. An intense battle drove rebels from large parts of Qusair, part of a withering government offensive aimed at securing a strategic land corridor from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast. (AP Photo)

Friday's fighting comes a week after President Bashar Assad's forces repelled a rebel raid on the prison that sought to free hundreds of political prisoners.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says intense fighting is also going on in the town of Qusair, near the border with Lebanon.

Government forces have been trying to recapture the town since Sunday. State-run news agency SANA says troops killed a "large number" of rebels in the latest clashes.

Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!

Follow Us

^{Content enhanced with OpenCalais.}