100 rebels killed in bid to break Syrian troops' siege

More than 100 rebel fighters have been killed in the countryside of Syrian capital Damascus as they attempted to break the government troops' siege, media reported Monday.

The Syrian troops repelled the rebels' attack against military base and checkpoints in the towns of Baharieh, Qasimieh, and Qaria al-Shamieh area in the eastern al-Ghouta suburb, reports Xinhua.

The incident came as hundreds of rebel fighters reportedly infiltrated from neighbouring Jordan to help the trapped rebels in the besieged al-Ghouta countryside.

The battles in the south and east of Damascus have been coupled with others on the northern rim of the capital, namely in Deir Attieh town, located in the al-Qalamoun mountains.

Following the government troops' recapture of Qara town in al-Qalamoun, more than 500 radical rebels from the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front have stormed Deir Attieh and are entrenched there, according to media reports.

The Syrian troops recently tightened the siege on the town in a bid to recapture it from the Nusra fighters.

The victory in al-Qalamoun is crucial for the Syrian troops as ridding the rebels of the area would secure the road which connects Damascus with central and northern Syria, and cut off the rebels' supply line from neighbouring Lebanon.