Syrian army, Hezbollah retake key Homs rebel district

Shelling has destroyed Khaled bin Walid mosque in al-Khalidiyah district of Homs The Syrian army has recaptured the key rebel district of Khaldiyeh in the central city of Homs, the state broadcaster reported on Monday. "The armed forces have restored security and stability across the neighbourhood of Khaldiyeh," one of the largest bastions of rebels in Syria's third city, state television said.
The army, backed by fighters from Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militant group, had launched an assault on Khaldiyeh a month ago as they press efforts to retake all of Homs, activists said.
The full recapture of Homs, dubbed by rebels "the capital of the revolution," would be a major coup for President Bashar al-Assad's regime as the city straddles a key route linking Damascus to the Mediterranean coast and the Alawite hinterland of Assad's minority community.
Several neighbourhoods in the Old City also remain in rebel hands, but troops, who have a foothold in that part of town too, appear determined to dislodge them.
The offensive in the city follows the army's recapture of the Homs province town of Qusayr in June, also with help from Hezbollah. British based group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fierce battles early Monday preceded the recapture of Khaldiyeh, calling the fighting "the most violent since the offensive was launched."
Al-Mayadeen, a Beirut-based satellite television channel considered close to the Damascus government, broadcast footage of Khaldiyeh showing massive destruction.
It also showed the interior of the famed Khaled bin Walid mosque which troops seized on Saturday.
The ancient place of worship noted for its Ottoman and Mameluk architectural style is where Khaled bin Walid, a prominent Arab warrior and companion of the Prophet Mohammed, is said to be buried.
The mosque was a focal point of the uprising now in its third year, and had been the launchpad for several anti-government demonstrations.
At least 150 Syrian regime forces died in fighting for control of Khan al-Assal in the northern Aleppo province, the Observatory said on Friday, adding that more than 50 of those killed were executed by rebels after the town fell last Monday.
The opposition said measures must be taken "against those whose implication in the crime is proven."
Both sides have traded accusations that chemical weapons used in earlier fierce fighting at Khan al-Assal in March killed about 30 people.
A spokeswoman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon said late on Saturday he would review an accord struck with Syria on investigating the use of chemical weapons before any details are announced. Ban will meet in New York on Monday with one of the two envoys who struck the accord, she told AFP.
A joint statement on Friday said agreement had been reached "on the way forward" in the probe, following a visit to Damascus by Ake Sellstrom, head of the UN inspectors, and Angela Kane, the UN disarmament envoy.
The UN says the 28-month-old civil war in Syria has killed more than 100,000 people and created millions of refugees. On Saturday alone, at least 121 people died in violence across Syria, according to the Observatory.
Source: AFP