BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition activists say a regime airstrike on a gas station in northern Syria set off an explosion that's killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens more.
The explosion went off in a town (Ain Issa) about 25 miles from the Turkish border. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says witnesses report seeing at least 30 bodies and the death toll appears likely to rise.
Another group of anti-regime activists, the Local Coordination Committees, describes intense attacks by warplanes on the gas station.
Earlier, Syria's state-run TV said a military helicopter crashed near Damascus today after clipping the tail of a passenger jet with 200 people aboard. The TV says the jet landed safely at Damascus airport and nobody on board was injured.
The helicopter went down southeast of Douma, a Damascus suburb that has seen clashes in recent days.
%@AP Links
153-c-07-(Zeina Karam (ZAY'-nuh kuh-RAHM'), AP correspondent)-"helicopter had crashed"-AP correspondent Zeina Karam reports an activist in the area blames rebels for the helicopter crash. (20 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *153 (09/20/12)>> 00:07 "helicopter had crashed"
152-c-12-(Zeina Karam (ZAY'-nuh kuh-RAHM'), AP correspondent)-"the helicopter down"-AP correspondent Zeina Karam reports a military aircraft is said to have crashed in Syria. (20 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *152 (09/20/12)>> 00:12 "the helicopter down"
154-c-11-(Zeina Karam (ZAY'-nuh kuh-RAHM'), AP correspondent)-"planes and helicopters"-AP correspondent Zeina Karam reports this isn't the only recent crash of military aircraft in Syria. (20 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *154 (09/20/12)>> 00:11 "planes and helicopters"
