Syrian jets bomb rebel areas

Syrian warplanes bombed rebel areas near Damascus today as President Bashar Assad’s troops battled opposition fighters for control of the road linking the capital to the country’s largest airport.

Mr Assad’s forces are trying drive out rebels who have established enclaves in the suburbs. While the government has lost control of large swathes of territory in the country’s north and east, including parts of the northern city of Aleppo, the capital remains tightly secured.