Syrian Planes Bomb Damascus Suburbs

Fighting gets closer to the seat of power

Syrian warplanes bombed rebel-held areas near Damascus as Bashar Assad's troops battled opposition fighters for control of a strategic road that links the capital with the main airport, according to activists. The state-run news agency Sana said that troops had been battling rebels in the oil-rich province of al-Hasaka in the country's north-east, killing and wounding several "terrorists", as they call the opposition fighters.