Syrian forces, rebels swap slain combatants' bodies

The Syrian authorities and the rebels swapped the dead bodies of 26 soldiers and rebel militants in the northern city of Aleppo, a monitor group reported on Tuesday.

The swap included 16 bodies of slain Syrian soldiers that were handed over to the authorities in Aleppo by the rebels in exchange of 10 corpses of the militants who were killed by the military forces during battles in Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The swap took place at the Bustan al-Qasser crossing between the rebel-held areas in the east and the government-controlled ones in the west, according to the UK-based watchdog group.

The exchange came as intense battles have recently been raging in Aleppo, after several rebel groups announced the commencement of their battle to free Aleppo from the government troops.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said the Syrian warplanes carried out two airstrikes against rebel positions near the al-Nayrab military base east of Aleppo.

It added that the rebels fired rockets on three Syrian military tanks in western Aleppo, stopping short of giving further details.

On Monday, a suicide bomber with the al-Qaida-linked militants blew himself up near an orphanage where the government troops were stationing, in the Jamiyet al-Zahra neighborhood, killing 25 Syrian soldiers, according to the Observatory.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once an economic hub, has become carved out between the rebels in the eastern part of the city and the Syrian troops in the west.

The rebels attempted repeatedly to storm government areas in the hope of seizing control of the entire city of Aleppo, without a success.