BEIRUT: The Syrian regime says the airport in the battleground northern city of Aleppo is still under military control and "safe" from rebels fighting to capture it.
The pro-government Al-Watan daily - considered a mouthpiece for President Bashar Assad's regime - said Wednesday the military is "valiantly defending" the airport and will do so at all cost.
The paper says the airport is under "intensive attacks by gunmen" - a rare acknowledgement of the ferocious fighting around Aleppo, Syria's largest city.
Assad's troops have been locked in a stalemate with the rebels since July, when Aleppo became a major battlefield in the nearly two-year conflict.
The rebels have been trying to capture the airport for weeks. They have recently taken control of most of two military bases protecting the facility.