At least 88 rebel and regime forces have been killed in two days of clashes for control of strategic sites in Syria´s southern Daraa province, a monitoring group said Saturday.
The pro- rebel Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (based in Britain) said 45 opposition fighters and 43 regime forces had been killed in the fighting that began on Thursday.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told the media that rebel forces, including fighters from Al-Qaeda´s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, had seized the strategic Tal al-Jabiyeh hill on Thursday. Clashes were continuing as the opposition fighters sought to take another hilltop nearby in a bid to connect territory they hold in Daraa and the Quneitra region, alongside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Fierce fighting was continuing with Syrian govt forces calling in air support and artillery strikes.