At least 40 Syrian officers were killed Tuesday in combat and others captured by rebels during attacks on two police offices in the south of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
"Hundreds of rebels attacked two police stations in Salhine and Bab Nairab (south) and at least 40 policemen were killed during the fighting that lasted for hours," said Rami Abdel Rahamn, president of the SOHR.
Among the dead was the head of the police station IN Salhine, where three vehicles were destroyed. In addition to these stations, the rebels attacked at dawn the headquarters of the military court and a branch of the ruling Baath Party in the city, according to the NGO. Fighting also broke out near the headquarters of the powerful Air Intelligence in the district of al-Zahra in western part of the city as well as the Salaheddin district (southwest), which is the main rebel stronghold besieged by the regime troops.
A security source in Damascus told AFP that the army had regained some control on Salaheddine but it was facing "a very strong resistance " The rebels, however, denied that the army has "moved forward even one meter".
The rebels claim to control 60% of Aleppo. This information is impossible to verify. State television for its part said that regular army troops advance in Aleppo, inflicting heavy casualties on "terrorists".
