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Syrian Rebels Attack Airbase, Cut Off Aleppo from Damascus
(AFP-Daily Star-Lebanon) In the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, rebels said they had launched a major assault on the Taftanaz airbase, from where helicopter gunships raid opposition positions and rebel-held areas. Analysts said the assault came as rebel forces clearly have the momentum in the battle for Syria's northwest. "The rebels' gains in the north seem irreversible," said Thomas Pierret, a Syria expert at the University of Edinburgh. He said regime forces appeared to be concentrating their efforts on defending Aleppo, which rebel advances have cut off from Damascus and the Mediterranean coast. "The problem with this strategy is that the Aleppo garrisons are now largely isolated. It is likely they will fall in the months to come," he said.