A Syrian rebel plays football in the Saif al-Dawlah neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The United Nations estimated Wednesday that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria's 21-month-old uprising against authoritarian rule, a toll one-third higher than what anti-regime activists had counted. The U.N. human rights chief called the toll "truly shocking." (AP Photo/Andoni Lubacki)
A Syrian rebel plays football in the Saif al-Dawlah neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The United Nations estimated Wednesday that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria's 21-month-old uprising against authoritarian rule, a toll one-third higher than what anti-regime activists had counted. The U.N. human rights chief called the toll "truly shocking." (AP Photo/Andoni Lubacki)
In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, A Free Syrian Army fighter stands on a vehicle as he holds his weapon in Taftanaz village, Idlib province, northern Syria, on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Rebels attacked a sprawling air base on Wednesday as the opposition expanded its offensive on military airports in an attempt to sideline a major weapon in the hands of President Bashar Assad?s forces. The Observatory said the rebel assault on the Taftanaz base was preceded by heavy shelling of the area, and the fighters appeared to be trying to storm the facility. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian activists and state media are reporting intense fighting around a strategic air base in the country's north.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebels stormed parts of the Taftanaz air base in the northwestern province of Idlib before withdrawing.
The state-run SANA news agency said government forces protecting the base "repelled the terrorists' attempt to attack the airport" and inflicted heavy losses.
The Observatory says attacks by the rebels resumed early Thursday in an attempt to capture the base. Several efforts in recent months to take the Taftanaz facility have failed.
Syrian rebels have been attacking five air bases in Idlib and the nearby province of Aleppo, trying to chip away at the government's air power, which poses the biggest obstacle to advances by opposition fighters.
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