DAEL, Syria, March 29 (UPI) -- Syrian rebels have taken control of a strategic town near the border with Jordan, the British Observatory for Human Rights said Friday.
After 24 hours of fighting, during which 16 rebels and several others were killed, opposition forces captured Dael in Daraa province, Voice of America reported.
The Observatory said Dael is an important gateway to Damascus. There was fighting reported Friday in cities, including Qaboon and Yarmuk, near Damascus.
The capture of Dael comes a day after an attack killed more than a dozen students at Syria's Damascus University. State-controlled media alleged that opposition forces were responsible for the attack.
Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, now in its third year, between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and those who would like to see him out of power. At least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
