Syrian rebels on Thursday blew up a gas pipeline in the north-east of the country, bordering Iraq, reported the official news agency Sana. The attack occurred near Deir al-Zour against the oil and gas pipeline linking Deir al-Zour to Palmyra in the center of the country. An official with the Ministry of Petroleum, cited by SANA said that repairs work will begin soon.
Meanwhile, he Syrian army has carried out new air strikes Thursday on Maaret al-Noomane, a key city in the rebel-controlled northern Syria region. These bombings by the regime aimed in particular at the eastern outskirts of Maaret al-Noomane, where the rebels besieged the military base of Wadi Daif.
Fighter-bombers, including Sukhoi, flew over Maaret al-Noomane region throughout the morning, making short dives at low altitude to drop at least ten bombs on the city and its periphery.
Heavy machine guns of the rebellion came into action on several occasions to try to shoot down aircraft, but without success. On Wednesday, a military helicopter was shot down while flying over the city at medium altitude. The rebels began at around 8:00 local intense bombardments of Daif Wadi base. These shots were continuing at 10:30 local time (7:30 GMT), with the fall of a shell at a rate of almost every ten seconds.
Nearly 250 soldiers loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad took refuge in the camp, according to the rebels, and a large amount of equipment and ammunition is stored there. The base is also located about two kilometers east of the Damascus-Aleppo highway, which the rebels now hold firmly a part of several kilometers. On Wednesday night, the rebels said they were preparing for an assault, promising an attack "in the coming days."
