40 Soldiers Killed as Syria Rebels take Town

Forty government soldiers and nine rebels were killed on Saturday when rebels took a town in the northwestern province of Idlib near the border with Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The clashes at Khirbat al-Joz... ended when fighters of the rebel brigades took control of the area," said the Britain-based watchdog.

"The fighting lasted more than 12 hours and resulted in at least 40 dead among the regular forces, including five officers, and nine (rebel) fighters," it added after earlier reporting 25 soldiers and three rebels dead.

Fighting was also reported on the outskirts of the Tareq al-Baba district of Aleppo on Saturday.

"I've never seen so many rebels in the area. They've put mortars on the rooftops and municipal buses at the entrances to Tareq al-Bab to keep out the army," said a 40-year-old medical laboratory worker living in the district.

Nationwide, at least 75 people were killed on Saturday -- including 38 soldiers, 25 rebels and 12 civilians -- according to an initial count from the Observatory, which gave a death toll of 133 for Friday.

Since the uprising against Bashar Assad's rule erupted in March last year, more than 31,000 people have been killed, according to the group.