AMMAN: Syrian insurgents killed 20 soldiers in heavy fighting around a northern Syrian town close to the border with Turkey, opposition sources said on Tuesday.

They said six civilians and six rebels, including two rebel commanders, were also killed over the past 24 hours in the fighting after the army launched an offensive with tanks and helicopters to retake the region around Atareb in Aleppo province, 18 km (11 miles) east of the Turkish border.