Gunmen snatched 47 Iranian pilgrims just outside Damascus in a brazen attack that revealed the growing instability at the centre of President Bashar Assad’s power.

Heavy explosions shook the Syrian capital today and helicopters circled overhead as rebels appeared to be renewing their offensive in the city, witnesses and activists said.

Mortars rained down on a crowded marketplace in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital, killing 21 people as regime forces and rebels clashed on the southern outskirts of Damascus, activists have said.

A total of 15 people have been killed after mortars struck a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus, activists have claimed.

Syrian rebels have bombarded a military air base in Aleppo using a tank captured from government troops as activists reported the regime has launched new raids against opposition fighters near the capital Damascus, killing dozens.

Syrian forces struck back against rebels today with attack helicopters and shelling in Damascus, one day after an audacious rebel attack in the capital killed three leaders of the regime.

Syrian rebels fired grenades at tanks and troops while regime armour shelled areas of Damascus, sending terrified families fleeing the most sustained and widespread fighting in the capital since the start of the uprising 16 months ago.

Syria’s army deployed armoured vehicles near central Damascus as troops battled rebels around the capital in what activists said could be a turning point in the 16-month uprising.

Opposition fighters are clashing with Syrian government forces in the capital, Damascus, for a second day, activists said today.