Syria rebels target key airbase before opposition talks

Syrian rebels said Saturday they had launched a major assault against a northern airbase used to deploy regime air power, on the eve of a crucial meeting to decide the future of the opposition.The attack on the Taftanaz base, from where helicopter gunships raid opposition positions and rebel-held areas, comes after regime forces this week launched an unprecedented wave of air strikes in a bid to reverse rebel gains.A video posted on the Internet said eight battalions were taking part in the attack, including the radical Islamist Al-Nusra Front, and showed a missile launcher mounted on the back of a pick-up truck firing on regime positions.The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground, said an operation had begun to liberate the Taftanaz airbase.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog, said heavy fighting had broken out near the base, in Idlib province where rebels have made significant gains this week.The rebels earlier on Saturday seized an air defence position at Duwila in Idlib, in fighting that killed an army officer and wounded eight rebel fighters, the Observatory said.After seizing arms and ammunition from the post, the rebels fled under attack from the air.The rebels made other gains near Damascus, the Observatory said, seizing a police station, a municipal building and a hospital in the town of Douma, northeast of the capital, after fighting that killed 21 soldiers.The fresh clashes came as Syrias political opposition prepared for key talks starting Sunday in Qatar, where the United States is expected to push for a new umbrella organisation to unite the countrys fractured regime opponents.Reports have emerged that Washington will press for an overhaul of the opposition and its main representative body, the Syrian National Council (SNC), with long-time dissident Riad Seif touted as the potential head of a new government-in-exile dubbed the Syrian National Initiative.The SNC lashed out at US interference on Friday, accusing Washington of undermining the countrys revolt and sowing the seeds of division by seeking the overhaul.Washington denied it was trying to interfere, insisting it was simply seeking to ensure that more voices were heard.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week voiced frustration with the SNC, saying it was not representative of on-the-ground opposition forces and that it can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition.