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Syrian rebels claim to control 60% of Aleppo
Opposition forces in Syria claimed that they had increased their control over the key city of Aleppo to 60 percent on Saturday, according to a report on Al-Arabiya. The Free Syria Army reportedly took over government-run radio and television stations in the northern part of Syria's largest city. The rebels eventually ended up retreating. The ongoing battles are taking place near strategic points in the city. (Jack Khoury and DPA )
IDF troops shoot Syrian attempting to breach border
A Syrian man was shot by Israel Defense Forces soldiers yesterday while attempting to cross the Syria-Israel border. At 3:20 P.M., troops from Armored Battalion 46 spotted the man approaching the border fence in the southern Golan Heights, near Tel Fares. As soldiers spotted the man holding a tool with which to cut the barbed-wire fence, they immediately began the standard IDF protocol for engaging a suspicious individual. When the suspect did not respond, the soldiers opened fire and he was hit once in the knee. Other Syrian citizens arrived on the scene and carried him away. (Gili Cohen )
Report: 48 Iranian pilgrims kidnapped near Damascus
Forty-eight Iranian pilgrims were reportedly kidnapped near Damascus by the Free Syria Army yesterday, according to the Iranian Fars news agency. Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted an unnamed official in Iran's embassy in Damascus as saying the pilgrims were seized on the Damascus airport road as they returned from a religious shrine. IRNA quoted the official as saying that the embassy knows the whereabouts of the pilgrims and is pursuing "relevant channels" to free them. (Jack Khoury and DPA )
