AMMAN/CILVEGOZU, Turkey - Rebels seized control of sections of Syria's
international borders and torched the main police headquarters in the
heart of old Damascus, advancing relentlessly after the assassination of
Syrian President Bashar Assad's closest lieutenants.
The battle for parts of the capital raged into the early hours of
Friday, with corpses piled in the streets. In some neighborhoods,
residents said there were signs that the government's presence was
diminishing.
Officials in neighboring Iraq confirmed that Syrian rebels were now in
control of the Syrian side of the main Abu Kamal border checkpoint on
the Euphrates River highway, one of the major trade routes across the
Middle East.
Rebels also claimed control of at least two border crossings into Turkey
at Bab al-Hawa and Jarablus, in what appeared to have been a
coordinated campaign to seize Syria's frontiers.