Syrian rebels fight Assad's forces in the centre of Aleppo

AMMAN: Rebels launched an offensive on Tuesday to take over downtown Aleppo, battling Syrian army and intelligence personnel at the gates of the Old City, a United Nations World Heritage site, residents and opposition activists said.

In the northern outskirts of Aleppo, Syria's main commercial and industrial hub, President Bashar al-Assad's forces put down an overnight a mutiny at the city's prison, killing 15 prisoners with tear gas and machineguns, activists in contact with surviving prisoners said.