Syria Helicopters 'Hit Rebel Positions' near Turkey

Helicopter gunships on Friday fired on rebel positions in the Latakia area of northwestern Syria, near the Turkish border, wounding at least 20 people, a monitoring group said.

"This is the first time that this area, known as the Mountain of the Kurds, has been the target of air strikes," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

"It is an area of steep mountains where it is difficult for tanks to operate," he added.

"Before, helicopters just overflew the area. Today was the most violent operation" against the villages of Kansebba, Kabbaneh, Marj al-Zawiyah, Doueirkeh and Eido, between six and 25 kilometers (four and 16 miles) from the border.

"Using heavy machineguns, the helicopters are homing in on precise targets in an attempt to clear the area to allow troop transports to launch a ground assault to dislodge the rebels."