Dozens of Syrian security personnel and rebels have been killed in an attack on an intelligence facility in the city of Aleppo, a monitoring group says. The attack began when a bomb placed in a tunnel near Air Force Intelligence's headquarters was detonated, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Islamist and jihadist rebels then launched an attack on the building. Aleppo has been divided between rebel and government control since fighting erupted in the city in mid-2012. But soldiers, backed by pro-government militiamen and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, have made steady advances since launching an offensive to retake the rebel-held west of the city last year. 'Part-destroyed' Both the UK-based Syrian Observatory and the opposition Aleppo Media Centre reported that an explosion had struck the Air Force Intelligence building in the Jamiat al-Zahra district on Wednesday evening. The Syrian Observatory said rebels had detonated explosives placed in a tunnel dug underneath or near the intelligence facility. Rebel sources told the Reuters news agency that part of the building had been destroyed. The blast was followed by intense clashes in the area as rebels launched a ground assault. Rami Abdul Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory, said the dead included members of Air Force Intelligence, pro-government militiamen and attackers from a jihadist group.
