Syrian rebels on the offensive in eastern city

BEIRUT — Activist groups say Syrian rebels are on the offensive in an eastern city near the border with Iraq.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees said yesterday that Syrian army warplanes conducted several air raids against rebel positions in the city of Deir el-Zour.

The LCC and the Observatory said rebels killed seven soldiers and captured several others in the city that has been contested since last year.

Rebels have been on the offensive in northern Syria and President Bashar Assad's stronghold in the coastal province of Latakia.

Unrest in Syria began in March 2011 and later exploded into a civil war. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict.