Syrian troops battle to retake rebel-held areas

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces pressed ahead with the battle to take back areas they have dominated throughout the country.

Syrian activists said clashes were underway Wednesday in the northern province of Aleppo, in the region around the capital, Damascus, and in the besieged city of Homs.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting was fiercest in towns and villages in the strategic Aleppo. The province abuts the Turkish border, and is an important gateway for rebel fighters to bring in weapons and supplies.

Homs-based activist Tariq Badrakhan says government forces are also continuing their campaign, now in its fourth day, to seize parts of the central city of Homs that have been in rebel hands for over a year.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.