Syrian rebels seize key air base

BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian rebels and Islamic militants overran a major military air base in the north Friday and, buoyed by the victory, intensified their offensive on two other bases in their most aggressive campaign yet to erode the air supremacy on which the regime of President Bashar Assad has increasingly relied the past year.

The rebels control the ground in large parts of the north, but they have been unable to solidify their grip because they — and civilians in rebel-held regions — come under withering strikes from aircraft stationed at a number of military bases in the area.