Activists: Syrian rebels gain full control of captured army base in north, kill 35 soldiers

BEIRUT – An activist group says Syrian rebels are in full control of a sprawling military base they stormed two days earlier and have killed 35 government troops in the fighting.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the battle for the Sheik Suleiman base near the northern city of Aleppo ended on Tuesday after the rebels took over the base's main compound and warehouses.

The rebels first entered the base on Sunday afternoon, after weeks of fighting with soldiers loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The Observatory says that in addition to the 35 soldiers killed, the rebels also wounded or captured 64 government troops in the base. The Observatory relies on a network of activists inside Syria.

Syria's 20-month conflict has killed more than 40,000 people.