Syrian rebels said on Sunday they had captured a military airport east of Damascus following an overnight battle with government forces.
Footage posted online showed a man with a gun standing in front of a wrecked helicopter as he announced that the rebels had taken control of the military airport of Marj al-Sultan, located in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta.
The video also showed a group of men touring the base, with an anti-aircraft gun seen positioned on top of a mount.
The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five rebels had died of injuries sustained during the clashes around the base.
Overall, 20 people were killed in violence across Syria on Sunday.
News out of Syria cannot be independently verified as authorities have banned most journalists from entering the country’s restive areas.
Meanwhile, officials in Iraq told DPA that they planned to open a new camp for Syrian refugees in al-Qaim, across the border from the Syrian town of al-Bou Kamal, which has seen frequent clashes in recent months.
Iraq currently hosts some 30,000 Syrians, the majority of which are based in a camp in Dohuk, in the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
