Syria denies rebels' control over intelligence HQ

DAMASCUS - Syria's state-TV on Sunday denied as "totally untrue" reports by the Saudi-funded al-Arabyia TV that the armed rebels in the northern province of Aleppo have taken control over a headquarters of Syrian air force intelligence.

The TV also denied another report broadcasted by al-Arabyia that a booby-trapped car ripped through the police academy in the capital Damascus on Sunday.

Earlier, the Syrian army's general command said the armed groups have gone so far in their flagrant violations to the cease-fire plan, adding that it has become incumbent on the army to strike those "terrorist groups" with an iron fist to root them out of the country.

In a statement carried by the state-run SANA news agency, the general command recounted the armed rebels' alleged violations to the cease-fire truce for the third straight day.

The cease-fire truce has been put forward by the UN-Arab League special representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, who pushed the conflicting parties in Syria to observe a truce during the four-day holiday of Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.

The truce, which supposedly went into effect on Friday, has been strained by consistent fighting between rebels and government forces.

The rebels Free Syrian Army has been regularly engaging in armed combat with government troops and now more than ever, are better equipped with communication equipment, weapons, cash and logistical support from the West and the Gulf States.

More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have reportedly died in Syria since the country's crisis began some 20 months ago. Up to 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, and over 340,000 have crossed the border to Syria's neighboring countries - Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, according to UN estimates.