Turkish border crossing

Syrian rebels seize control of border points with Iraq,Turkey

Anti-regime dissidents take over Syrian border crossings with Iraq, Turkey as clashes with Assad troops continue in capital. Iraqi General: Baghdad mulling closing frontier

News Agencies|Published: 07.19.12 , 23:51

Syrian rebel fighters took over a crossing on the Turkish border on Thursday, seizing control of the customs and immigration buildings on the Syrian side of the northern frontier, a rebel fighter and a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, rebels said that they have also seized control of all of Syria's border points with Iraq, dealing a new blow to President Bashar Assad, as China and Russia dismayed the West by blocking UN action against his regime.

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Anti-regime dissidents said they overran the Turkish Bab al-Hawa gate, which the rebels have tried to seize several times in the last 10 days, after a confrontation with soldiers loyal to Assad. Bab al-Hawa is a vital commercial crossing.

Footage which activists said was filmed at Bab al-Hawa showed rebels climbing onto the roofs of buildings at the crossing and tearing up a poster of President Assad.

"The army withdrew," a rebel fighter who would only be identified as Abu Ali told Reuters on the Turkish side of the border, where he was being treated for wounds. "The crossing is under our control – they withdrew their armored vehicles."

Syrian rebels take over Turkish border crossing

Ahmad Zaidan, spokesman for an opposition group called the Higher Council of the Revolution's Leadership, said rebels were already in charge of large areas around the border crossing.

The raid was also meant to provide an opportunity for opposition sympathizers among the government soldiers to defect. Most defections, he said, were pre-planned and sympathetic soldiers would know of an impending rebel attack.

Meanwhile, Anti-regime rebels said they have seized control of all Syrian border crossings into Iraq.

Rebels burning Syrian flags, Assad portraits

Iraq's deputy interior minister said fighters of the rebel Free Syrian Army had seized control of all crossings along the two countries' border, adding that Baghdad was mulling closing the frontier following bloody rebel reprisals against regime troops.

"All the border points between Iraq and Syria are under the control of the Free Syrian Army," Adnan al-Assadi said.

Assadi said Iraqi border guards had witnessed the Free Syrian Army take control of a border outpost, detain a Syrian army lieutenant colonel, and then cut off his arms and legs.

"Then they executed 22 Syrian soldiers in front of the eyes of Iraqi soldiers."

Assadi added: "If this situation continues, we are going to close the entire border with Syria."