Rebels battle against aerial bombardment in Syria

Government fighter jets have become fixtures in the skies over Syria, swooping over embattled cities, strewing lethal ordnance by the bushel onto neighborhoods below. Many are heavy bombs detonating into towering mushroom clouds that blow through cities as gritty fog and spread in videos across the internet.
A Damascus suburb suffered nine air strikes in less than two minutes Saturday, according to opposition groups working to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
Air raids also brought death to towns in Idlib province, taking 10 of the total of 18 lives lost to violence across the country, according to early reports from the Local Coordinating Committees.
The opposition Free Syrian Army attempted Saturday to do something about the carnage from above, attacking the Taftanaz military airport in the northerly Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Government media confirmed the attack, claiming to have heroically repelled it, killing “large numbers of terrorists,” as it terms the rebels. Opposition fighters reported that only one of their own died in the push. They have not claimed victory.
The government air force bombarded civilian areas in nearby towns, LCC spokesman Hamzeh Abu Hussam in Binnish told CNN, saying it was punishment against civilians for the FSA offensive on the airport. Hamzeh Abu Hussam is his nom de guerre.
He said bombs and shells leveled 30 houses there, killing seven, including four children. It is unclear if his claims are included in the LCC’s official report.
The airport, which takes up the space of a small city on a map, is near frequent targets of air strikes, such as Idlib, Taftanaz and Saraqib, which rebels said they took control of Friday. Aleppo is also within its range.
Its multiple helicopter pads, which have the appearance of clover leaves from above, and its airplane landing strip are easily visible on conventional Internet satellite map views south of the city of Taftanaz.
Clashes on the ground ignited again Saturday in Damascus suburbs and in Aleppo, perpetuating the 19-month conflict, which has taken over 35,000 lives according to the opposition Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria. CNN cannot confirm the claims by the government or the opposition due to government restrictions that prevent journalists from reporting freely within Syrian borders.