Fierce clashes near Syria's main airport

The main road to the airport of the Syrian capital Damascus has been closed and there have been no flights since early morning, as rebel groups reported fierce fighting in the area.
Later, state television said the Damascus airport road was "secured" after military intervention.
The clashes came as internet and phone systems in the country went down.
The Syrian government has previously cut off access to the internet during major operations, but correspondents say a nationwide switch-off is unprecedented.
But the information minister said "terrorists" had cut off the internet and that engineers were working to repair the fault.
Spain meanwhile announced its recognition of the Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representative of Syria's people.
In Aleppo, regime air strike yesterday killed at least 15 civilians, including five children, a monitoring group said.
Rebels who control vast swathes of territory in northern Syria have made significant gains in past days, including for the first time shooting down regime's attack aircraft with surface-to-air missiles.
Analysts said the use by the rebels of the advanced weaponry marked a potential turning point in their prolonged war with Assad's forces, in which according to the Observatory more than 40,000 people have died since March 2011.