A Syrian missile strike leveled a block of buildings in an impoverished district of Aleppo on Tuesday, killing at least 33 people, almost half of them children, anti-government activists said.

Many were trapped under the rubble of destroyed houses and piles of concrete, and the death toll could rise if more bodies are uncovered.

The apparent ground-to-ground missile attack struck a quiet area that has been held by anti-government fighters for many months, a reminder of how difficult it is for the opposition to defend territory in the face of the government's far-superior weaponry.

In the capital, Damascus, state-run news agency SANA said two mortar shells exploded near one of President Bashar al-Assad's palaces. It dealt a symbolic blow to the embattled leader, who has tried to maintain an image as the head of a functioning state even as rebels edge closer to the heart of his seat of power.

No casualties were reported, and it was unclear whether Assad was in the palace. He has two others in the city.

The attack was the first confirmed strike close to a presidential palace and another sign that the civil war is seeping into areas of the capital once considered safe.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops have repelled the intensified attacks of the armed rebels targeting the international airport of Aleppo, which is safe and now protected by the army, the pro-government Al-Watan Daily said on Wednesday.

The troops have thwarted an infiltration attempt by the armed groups that tried to set alight the fuel storage of the airport, the newspaper said, adding that the assailants retreated under the army's heavy firepower.

It added that a military unit, which succeeded earlier to dislodge rebels from towns near Aleppo, entered the town of Hasel on Tuesday, some 5 km from the airport and the adjacent airbase of Nairab, in a bid to secure the vicinity of both airports.

Meanwhile, local reports said clashes were still raging at the Brigade 80 base in Aleppo after it was overrun by rebels last week.

The base was responsible for providing protection to the international airport and Nairab airfield.

The rebels have intensified their attacks recently in a bid to take control over the airports and military airfields in the country.

The area has been under rebel control for months, activists said.

The UN recently said that 70,000 have been killed since the anti-government protests began in March 2011 in Syria. UN humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos said the number of those who have fled to neighboring countries in the last two months has reached 250, 000.

AP-Xinhua

(China Daily 02/21/2013 page11)