Syrian rebels claim they shot down a MiG fighter jet not far from the Syrian-Turkish border on Wednesday. Along with the downing of a military helicopter on Tuesday, it would appear to be one of the first times rebels have successfully used a kind of weapon called a MANPAD, or portable, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile that can hit a plane in fight.

The development would mark a turning point in the rebels’ bid to unseat Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Rebels say the Russian-made MiG fighter jet was shot down Wednesday morning near the town of Daarat Azzah, on the road north of the embattled city of Aleppo.

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Syrian warplanes have bombed a rebel headquarters near the Turkish border, missing their target but sending hundreds of Syrians fleeing across the frontier.

Monday’s attack on the Free Syrian Army (FSA) base in Atima, two kilometres from the border, came a day before Turkish and NATO officials were due to start assessing where to station surface-to-air missiles close to the 900km border.

Ahmed, an opposition activist who lives within a few blocks of the base, said: “Two Syrian fighter jets came and fired five rockets. Three have hit farm areas and another two hit buildings near the base.”

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Syrian rebels claimed to have captured an army artillery base in the eastern oil producing province of Deir al-Zour on Thursday, a monitoring group said, weakening by that President Bashar al-Assad’s control of the strategic region bordering Iraq.

“The area east of the city of Deir al-Zour, on the Iraqi border, is now the largest area in the whole country that is out of army control,” said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman to AFP.

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Egypt has announced cease-fire between Israel and Hamas since 21 local time, 20 in Italy. The announce has taken place during a press conference in Cairo in which has participated Hillary Clinton.

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An army unit clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Huseinyeh in Saida Zeinab area in Damascus Countryside and killed all of its members.

An official source told SANA reporter that leader of the group, terrorist Mohammad al-Batal, was identified among the dead.

The source said that a DShK-equipped vehicle was destroyed and weapons and ammunition were seized.

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