Syria is ready to cooperate with new U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, the deputy foreign minister said on Thursday, adding he hoped the veteran Algerian diplomat would help pave the way for "national dialogue".

"We have informed the United Nations that we accept the appointment of Mr. Brahimi," Faisal Muqdad told reporters in Damascus.

With the thud of heavy machine guns, the whipping sound of sniper rounds and the smell of cordite filling the midnight darkness, the rebels almost didn't notice her veiled figure turning the corner.

They dragged her behind the thick limestone wall of a centuries-old house in Jdeideh, one of the most recent frontlines in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo, and asked her for identification.

Syrian military planes crossed into Iraqi airspace on Thursday in order to carry out air strikes against the border town of al-Bukamal, which is held by rebel forces, Iraqi officials said.

"Syrian combat aircraft crossed into Iraqi airspace at about 8:00 am (0500 GMT) for about 15 minutes, and targeted al-Bukamal in Syrian territory," a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi border guards said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Syrian civilians are facing "horrific" violence as the battle for the commercial capital Aleppo rages, Amnesty International said Thursday, lashing out primarily at regime troops for launching indiscriminate attacks.

"The use of imprecise weapons, such as unguided bombs, artillery shells and mortars by government forces has dramatically increased the danger for civilians," Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International Senior Crisis Response Adviser, who recently returned from Aleppo, said in a statement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Thursday that the “battles in Tripoli” will not affect the Syrian crisis, despite being linked to it.

He told the PSP website: “The Tripoli unrest is aimed at diverting attention from the Syrian crisis.”

U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon Robert Watkins warned on Thursday that the latest armed clashes and kidnappings undermine the efforts to promote stability, urging the authorities to reject non-state actors from “taking the law into their own hands.”

The U.N. “has been following closely and with concern recent security incidents in the country, particularly the kidnappings targeting Syrian nationals and others in Lebanon as well as armed clashes that have been taking place in the past few days in Tripoli,” Watkins said following talks with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said on Thursday that Italy will host international talks "in the coming days" on the future of Syria after President Bashar Assad leaves power.

Italy "has proposed informal talks in Rome in the next few days with a group of allies and partner countries to discuss international roles and responsibilities in Syria after Assad," Terzi wrote in La Repubblica daily.

Israel on Thursday warned U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders not to fall into an Iranian propaganda "trap" when they attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran next week.

"This conference will doubtless be exploited by the Iranian regime for propaganda purposes and will try to create the impression of legitimacy for its policies," foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Agence France Presse.

The Syrian army recaptured three Christian neighborhoods in the historic heart of Aleppo from rebels Thursday but fierce clashes continued in other parts of the main northern city, residents said.

Loyalists forces also battled rebels in Damascus, shelling districts and storming houses, after launching a ferocious assault to try to reinforce its hold on the capital, activists said.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said on Thursday that the National Media Council (NMC) didn’t settle yet the way it will deal with the Lebanese broadcasting audio-visual channels committing violations.

“We’re open to all options,” Daouq told As Safir newspaper.