The first indication that Syrian rebels are using heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles emerged on Tuesday when a video was posted on YouTube. The footage appears to show a Syrian army helicopter, in Aleppo province, shot down using the missiles, in a major breakthrough for the opposition.
Although Syrian opposition fighters have made some key gains on the ground, the air superiority of the regime's army has previousl proved a major obstacle to rebel victories.
On the same day as the video was posted, at least five civilians were killed when government war planes attacked an olive oil press in the north of the country, according to opposition activists. The attack follows several days of intense fighting in the capital as rebels try to make inroads into the suburbs of Damascus.
In total, more than 90 people were killed on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
