Syria rebels seize base in embattled southern province

Rebels seized an air defence base near Syria's strategic southern international highway on Saturday, activists said, a gain that could bolster opposition fighters trying to secure supply routes to the capital Damascus.

Syria's southern provinces bordering Jordan and Israel have become an increasingly significant battleground as the embattled capital comes into play, with President Bashar al-Assad's forces and his loyalist militias hitting back hard to prevent rebel advances.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources among activists across Syria, said among those killed was the base commander after a two-week battle for the site in Deraa, a province bordering Jordan where initially peaceful protests against Assad set off Syria's two-year uprising.

"Fighters from the Nusra Front, Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, and other battalions seized control of the 38th division air defence base, near the town of Saida on the Damascus-Amman highway, after 16 days of fierce clashes," the Observatory said.