- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:33 05:50 12:21 15:48 18:46 20:03
Syrian residents and security forces inspect the damage following a car bomb explosion on April 10, 2015, in the government-controlled majority neighbourhood of Hay Al Arman, located on the outskirts of the Zahraa district in Homs city. One child was killed and at least 10 people were wounded in the explosion, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (AFP)
Pro-government forces repelled an attack on a key Syrian military airport by Daesh group affiliated militants, losing 20 fighters but killing almost as many, a monitor said Saturday.
"Militants who pledged allegiance to the IS group attacked the outskirts of the Khalkhalah military airport in Sweida province on Friday," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad had been able to maintain control over the airport and its surrounding areas despite losing 20 fighters.
At least 15 IS men were killed.
Khalkhalah airport lies along a major highway that links the southern regime-held city of Sweida to Damascus.
"The area is important because it's Druze and borders Damascus province," Abdel Rahman told AFP, referring to the minority sect that considers Sweida its stronghold.
Sweida province has largely avoided the bloodshed of Syria's war.
"The red lines that had been in place about attacking these areas have been broken," Abdel Rahman said. The Assad regime claims to protect Syria's minorities against foreign-backed militants.
On March 25, Syrian rebels and fighters seized the town of Bosra Al Sham, which is south of Sweida but located along the same highway as Khalkhalah airport.
Also on Friday, Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate withdrew from a key area along Syria's border with Jordan, the Observatory said.
Rebel groups and the Al Nusra Front took control of the Nasib crossing in the southern province of Daraa from regime forces last month.
Nasib had been under attack by moderate rebel forces, but fell shortly after Al Nusra joined the ongoing offensive.
Al Nusra withdrew from the checkpoint last week and left the other areas Friday.
"The other fighters asked them to leave Nasib because they weren't in the fight to begin with," Abdel Rahman said.
To the north, at least five people were killed and dozens wounded in rocket attacks Saturday on a Christian neighbourhood of Aleppo city.
"The death toll will likely rise as there are a number of people in critical condition," Abdel Rahman said.
State television also reported the attack but said six people were killed in "terrorist shelling".
Government forces regularly pound rebel-held areas from the air, and opposition fighters fire rockets and mortar rounds into regime-controlled neighbourhoods.
More than 215,000 people have been killed in Syria's four-year war, which is increasingly dominated by jihadist groups.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.