Members of the Syrian Free Army reportedly gained control over a military base in the northern town of Daret Ezzah this week after heavy fighting with government troops.



According to the British Telegraph, the rebels said they coordinated the attack with a group of defectors inside the base.

"The Free Army battalions in western rural Aleppo liberated Battalion 1041 in the area of Jabal al Sheikh Barakat in the town of Daret Ezzah," an army defector named Abu Jihad said.

"Thank God, we have full control over the location with the help of defecting soldiers from inside the battalion. We seized all artillery including anti-aircraft systems and light personal weapons," he added.

The United Nations says more than 10,000 people have been killed by Bashar al-Assad´s government forces since the outbreak of violent riots against his rule in March 2011. The regime says at least 2,600 members of the military and other security forces have been killed by what it says are foreign-backed "Islamist terrorists."

Opposition forces also stormed a pro-government satellite news television station Wednesday, killing three.

State-run Syrian media issued a response to the attack, saying “terrorists planted explosive devices in the headquarters of Al-Ikhbariya following their ransacking of the satellite channel studios, including the newsroom, which was entirely destroyed." (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 06/27/12)