AN ISLAMIST FACTION of Syrian rebels claims to have captured an infantry base in the northern city of Aleppo, as forces fighting to topple President Bashar Assad advanced on the country’s largest city.

Also today, Syrian warplanes blasted a Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus, killing eight people and wounding dozens, activists said. Some Palestinian groups in the Yarmouk camp have been backing Assad’s regime.

The base was the second major army installation taken by rebels in a week in Aleppo. Its fall is the latest blow to the Assad regime.

Last week more than 100 nations, including the US, recognised the new Syrian opposition council as the legitimate representative of the country, a boost for the opposition forces that have been bombing regime targets in and around Damascus, once an impregnable stronghold of the Assad regime.

A statement by the al-Tawheed Brigade said the rebels “fully liberated” the military facility in Aleppo on Saturday.

It was posted on al-Tawheed’s official website on Sunday and said the Islamist rebel brigade’s commander was killed in the battle.

The complex, known as Hanano Barracks, includes an army base, a recruiting center and a military school.

The Al-Tawheed Brigade is one of the largest rebel groups operating in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, which has been a major front in the civil war since July.