Syria: Government Pounds Damascus Suburbs

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/world/middleeast/syria-conflict.html

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Government forces continued to pound the Damascus suburbs with artillery and airstrikes on Tuesday, as antigovernment activists reported that the main airport in the northern city of Aleppo was closed because of fighting nearby. There were explosions in Daraya and Moadamiyeh, rebel strongholds south of the capital where the government has been carrying out one of its most intense counteroffensives in months. In Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, the airport was reportedly closed Tuesday amid nearby fighting, three days after activists reported that a blast, possibly from a rebel mortar, hit a civilian jetliner on Saturday. Some rebels have said civilian airlines are legitimate targets.