Friday, October 12, 2012

Turkey scrambles warplanes to Syrian border – live updates

The Guardian

".......Rebel describes attack on Taaneh airbase

Following the claim that rebels have captured an airbase at Taaneh, east of Aleppo (see earlier post), our colleague Mona Mahmood contacted Abu Firas, spokesman for the Revolutionary Council in Aleppo via Skype.
He confirmed that the base had been captured, though he said government air raids have since destroyed "most of the rockets and radars inside".
A few hundred fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, Fajr al-Islam and a few members of the FSA took part in the operation which lasted for more than five hours. The airbase was completely destroyed.
The fighters were able to control the whole base after a long fight in which many Syrian soldiers killed, some fled, and others were captured. More than 10 Syrian soldiers were captured and taken to prison to be tried soon.
The fighters have set up many checkpoints around the base and were able to confiscate 20 different rockets. The Syrian army who were in the base and escaped killing have pulled out to Neirab base.
The operation started by firing at the airbase with machineguns loaded on pickups from all directions. Tough resistance came from the Syrian army as the fighters were progressing inside. Four fighters were killed and another 10 were wounded, some of them with serious injuries.
Soon after the operation, the regime began to shell the base with planes and destroyed most of the rockets and radars inside. The planes also shelled many districts inside Aleppo and the countryside.
The 10 prisoners will be summoned to a revolutionary trial. It has judges, a sharia committee and lawyers. They will look in their cases and find out what to do them. The FSA has a prison in the countryside of Aleppo – it has more than 500 prisoners who are waiting for trial, some of them with high ranks.
The video below is said to show some of the military equipment at Taaneh airbase......"

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