The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that fighter jets struck near the Kweiras air base near the Turkish border early Tuesday. Opposition forces fighting to oust Assad's regime for more than two years have been trying for months to take Kweiras and two other military air bases nearby.

Assad's regime has relied heavily in the past year on its air force to neutralize the opposition's territorial gains. In the last year, rebels have been able to capture much of the area near the Turkish border, several districts in Aleppo, the whole city of Raqqa and even dams on the River Euphrates. But they have had difficulty running these areas effectively because of the threat of attack from the air.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of informants inside Syria, also reported heavy clashes in Aleppo, the country's commercial hub.

There were no reports of casualties in either the strikes or the fighting.

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Bashar Assad's comment on the arrival of the long-range S-300 air defense missiles in Syria could further ratchet up tensions in the region and further undermine efforts to hold U.N.-sponsored talks with Syria's warring sides.

Israel's defense chief, Moshe Yaalon, said earlier this week that Russia's plan to supply Syria with the weapons is a threat and that Israel was prepared to use force to stop the delivery.

The Al-Manar TV, owned by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, released Assad's comment on the Russian missiles through its breaking news service to clients on Thursday morning. An official at the station confirmed to The Associated Press that the remark was from the interview.

The TV is to air the exclusive interview in full later Thursday.

The shipment of the missiles, if confirmed, comes just days after the European Union lifted an arms embargo on Syria, paving way for individual countries of the 27-member bloc to send weapons to rebels fighting to topple Assad's regime.

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The Revolutionary Movement in Syria, an umbrella organization of activist groups from across the country, threatened to withdraw its backing for the Syrian National Coalition if the notoriously fractured opposition leadership in exile doesn't come up with a strategy that will represent millions of Syrians caught up in the country's bloody civil war. While the loss of support would have little practical effect, it would deal a sharp symbolic blow to the Coalition, which has long been accused of being out of touch with those on the ground in Syria.

The Coalition has been meeting for days in Istanbul, but has failed to agree on several key points, including on whether to attend international peace talks in Geneva with representatives of Assad's regime aimed at finding a resolution to the more than 2-year-old conflict.

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Raqqa, in eastern Syria, was overrun in late February by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The rebels facilitated the New York-based group's access to facilities that had belonged to a government security agency and military intelligence in late April.

The HRW said its researchers found physical evidence that Syrians were tortured, including with a device which former detainees said was used to stretch or bend victims' arms and legs. The group also found documents indicating Raqqa residents were detained for legal actions like demonstrating or helping the injured.

Rights groups and opposition activists have long claimed that civilians have been detained arbitrarily, tortured, and sometimes have disappeared since the uprising against Assad's regime began. HRW's findings appear to be one of the largest finds of physical evidence bolstering those claims to date.

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In the past months, rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad have frequently targeted military aircraft and air bases in an attempt to deprive his regime of a key weapon used to target opposition strongholds and reverse rebel gains in the 2-year-old conflict.

The fighting inside the Mannagh air base in northern Syria came a day after Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the capital, Damascus, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, officials and activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday posted a video online showing several armed men standing in front of the wreckage. One of the fighters in the footage says it's a helicopter that the rebels shot down late Sunday in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, along Syria's border with Iraq.

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Human Rights Watch said Syrian fighter jets have targeted bakeries, bread lines and hospitals in the country's north.

In recent months, parts of northern Syria, especially areas along the border with Turkey, have fallen under the control of rebels, including several neighborhoods of Aleppo, the country's largest city.

"The aim of the airstrikes appears to be to terrorize civilians from the air, particularly in the opposition-controlled areas where they would otherwise be fairly safe from any effects of fighting," Ole Solvang of the New York-based group told The Associated Press.

These attacks are "serious violations of international humanitarian law," and people who commit such breaches are "responsible for war crimes," the New York-based group said.

Solvang led the HRW team that inspected 52 sites in northern Syria and documented what it said were 59 unlawful attacks by the Syrian Air Force. At least 152 people were killed in these attacks, according to a HRW report released Thursday.

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The state-run news agency SANA blamed the attack on terrorists, the term the regime uses for rebels who are fighting to topple the government. There were no immediate details on the ages of the students or their identities.

But the bloodshed comes as Syrian forces fired artillery at rebel targets in and around the capital and the international community grew increasingly alarmed about the regime's chemical weapons stocks.

Syrian rebels have made gains in recent weeks, overrunning military bases and bringing the fight to Damascus. Since Thursday, the capital has seen some of the heaviest fighting since July, killing scores of people, forcing international flights to turn back or cancel flights and prompting the United Nations to withdraw most of its international staff.

"The push to take Damascus is a real one, and intense pressure to take control of the city is part of a major strategic shift by the rebel commanders' strategy," said Mustafa Alani, a Middle East analyst from the Geneva-based Gulf Research Center. "They have realized that without bringing the fight to Damascus, the regime will not collapse."

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Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Cairo that President Bashar Assad's government has agreed to a truce during the Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins Friday. Brahimi said Damascus will issue a statement on accepting the truce for the holiday later "today or tomorrow."

Brahimi's announcement came as government forces intensified airstrikes on rebel-held area near the besieged city of Aleppo. The fighting in Syria has killed more than 34,000 people since March last year, according to activists.

Brahimi didn't elaborate on how such a truce would be monitored. The envoy has met with Assad in Damascus on Sunday as part of his push for a cease-fire between rebels and government forces. He also held talks last week with opposition groups inside and outside Syria and earlier received "promises" but not a "commitment" from them to honor the cease-fire.

In Damascus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi stressed Wednesday that the cessation of military operations during Eid al-Adha is still "being studied" by the General Command of the Army and the Syrian armed forces, and that "the final position on this matter will be issued on Thursday."

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Kirdyapkin finished Saturday's race 54 seconds ahead of Jared Tallent of Australia, who took silver. Si Tianfeng of China was 1 minute, 17 seconds behind to win bronze in the event along the streets of central London.

Kirdyapkin took a commanding lead at the 45-kilometer mark and crossed the finish line near Buckingham Palace in 3 hours, 35 minutes, 59 seconds. He broke the Olympic record of 3:37:09 by 1 minute, 10 seconds. The mark was set by Alex Schwazer of Italy at the Beijing Games four years ago.

Schwazer had failed a doping test conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency before arriving in London and was excluded from the Olympics. The 27-year-old athlete, who admitted to using the blood-boosting hormone EPO, was removed from the Italian team Monday. He said he felt immense pressure to defend his title in London.

Kirdyapkin won the world championships in 2005 and 2009. He failed to finish at the 2008 Beijing Games.

"Compared with Beijing, today it all went perfectly well," Kirdyapkin said. "It's the Olympic gold medal, so for me it's the most important."

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The unrest that began last month has increasingly showed signs of a sectarian showdown: The country's Sunni leaders are desperate to hold power, and majority Shiites are calling for an end to their dynasty. A Saudi-led force from Gulf allies, fearful for their own regimes and worried about Shiite Iran's growing influence, has grown to more than 1,000 soldiers.

Wednesday's full-scale assault was launched at dawn in Pearl Square, the center of the uprising inspired by Arab revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. Hours later, security forces were picking through burned debris and other remains of the protest camp.

In another area of Bahrain, one witness described police in a village "hunting" Shiites in what could be part of a wider campaign of intimidation.

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The full-scale assault launched at daybreak swept into Pearl Square, which has been the center of uprising against Bahrain's rulers since it began more than a month ago. Stinging clouds of tear gas filled streets and black smoke rose from the square from the protesters' tents set ablaze.

Witnesses said at least two protesters were killed when the square was stormed. Officials at Ibn Nafees Hospital said a third protester later died from gunshot wounds in his back. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisals from authorities.

Meanwhile, Bahrain state TV also reported that two policemen died when they were hit by a vehicle after anti-government protesters were driven out. The Interior Ministry also at least one other policeman was killed, but did not give the cause.

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The blasts in the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf and in Iraq's second largest city of Basra were the third major attacks since last week, after the slaughter of more than 50 Christians in a Baghdad church and a string of 13 coordinated bombings across Baghdad that killed more than 90 people.

There was no claim of responsibility for Monday's attacks, but the violence underscores the desire of al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists to foment sectarian division at a time when Iraqis are watching to see if their leaders can form a new government accepted by both the Shiite majority and the Sunni minority.

In the northern town of Irbil, leaders of Iraq's major political blocs met Monday for the first time since parliamentary elections in March. The 90-minute televised session, the start of three days of talks, did not lead to a breakthrough.

The battle is largely a contest between the Iranian-favored coalition of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki along with followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr against a Sunni-backed secular coalition led by former prime minister Ayad Allawi.

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The decision to execute the 74-year-old Aziz, who has suffered a series of strokes in prison, shows the depth of hatred among the country's current Shiite leadership for top figures in a Baathist regime that sent hundreds of thousands of opponents to death or exile.

Among Shiites in the vast, eastern Baghdad slum called Sadr City, a gallows death for one of Saddam's ardent aides was considered a fitting end.

"This is a fair judicial court ruling against those whose hands are still bloodied," said Kamil Jassim, a 32-year-old teacher.

Many Sunnis, the minority Muslim sect that dominated Iraq under Saddam, questioned whether the death sentence was merely revenge masquerading as justice.

"The aim of this court, formed by this government, is to kill and liquidate all of the former regime's senior figures if they committed crimes or not. It is an unfair trial and unfair verdict," said Jameel Sahib Ali, a 50-year-old merchant in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.

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The attacks made August the deadliest month for Iraqi policemen and soldiers in two years, and came a day after the U.S. declared the number of U.S. troops had fallen to fewer than 50,000, their lowest level since the war began in 2003.

Powerful blasts targeting security forces struck where they are supposed to be the safest, turning police stations into rubble and bringing down concrete walls erected to protect them from insurgents.

"Where is the protection, where are the security troops?" said Abu Mohammed, an eyewitness to a car bombing near Baghdad's Adan Square that killed two passers-by. "What is going on in the country?"

Iraq's foreign minister said insurgents are attempting to sow as much chaos as possible, as lawmakers struggle to form a new government and Americans withdraw troops.

"Here you have a government paralysis, you have a political vacuum ... you have the U.S. troop withdrawal," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said. "And, in such environment, these terrorist networks flourish."

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The brazen attack just outside Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, hit the employees right after they had picked up the payroll for the Haditha refinery in western Iraq from the main refining headquarters in Beiji, 155 miles (250 kilometers) north of Baghdad, police said.

Hospital officials in Tikrit confirmed the death toll.

Three accountants, an engineer and a driver were killed in the afternoon attack, said an official with the main refinery in Beiji. The incident was the latest in a rising trend of criminal attacks that many believe is part of insurgent efforts to raise funds.

On Sunday, gunmen in western Baghdad held up a car with five employees of the Veterinary Collage outside a bank until they handed over the $600,000 payroll, police officials said. There were no casualties.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

A series of bank robberies, attacks on gold jewelers and money changers have occurred over the past several weeks across Iraq raising suspicions that that al-Qaida-linked insurgents could be replenishing their coffers for future attacks.

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Police and hospital officials said the blast occurred Monday evening near a restaurant and coffee shop in Baqouba. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Baqouba is 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. It was once controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq before a series of U.S.-Iraqi offensives led to a drop in violence.

The attack came hours after another car bomb killed a British contractor in Mosul, about 225 miles (360 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Violence has dropped sharply since the height of Iraq's insurgency in 2007, but insurgents still wage attacks aimed at destabilizing Iraq's government.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A British national died Monday when an explosives-laden car blew up near his convoy in the northern city of Mosul, said the British Embassy in Baghdad.

In Baghdad, gunmen on a speeding motorcycle gunned down one of Iraq's top judo athletes while he stood at a bus stop.

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Iraq's assumption of control over the base near the international airport on the southwestern outskirts of Baghdad also marks the end of a troubling chapter in the U.S. presence in the country -- one defined for years by the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. With the handover, Iraq has now assumed control of the last of three such prisons controlled by U.S. forces.

The transfer raises questions about how well prepared the Iraqis are to handle the detainees, with concerns about sectarian tensions spilling over into the prison system. Inmates in Iraqi detention facilities have repeatedly complained about torture and beatings by the police, as well as overcrowding and poor conditions behind bars.

Prisoners in U.S. custody, meanwhile, have benefited from reforms in the wake of photographs showing mistreatment of inmates by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib in 2004.

The American general in charge of detainee centers in Iraq said the Iraqis were ready for the added responsibility.

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The attacks -- the deadliest of which occurred in northern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah -- offered a clear indication of the push by insurgents to exploit Iraq's political vacuum and destabilize the country as U.S. troops head home.

Police said the bloody suicide bombing that killed 32 and wounded more than 90 people, split the hot Wednesday evening air as Shiite pilgrims were about to cross a bridge leading to the a shrine in the Shiite Kazimiyah neighborhood where a revered imam is buried.

A 30-year-old Sunni resident of Azamiyah said he was drinking tea and watching pilgrims walk by when he and his friends heard the blast.

"We heard a big explosion and everybody rushed to the site to see bodies and hear wounded people, screaming for help," Saif al-Azami told The Associated Press.

"We helped carry the wounded to the hospital before the ambulances arrived," he said, adding that some of his Sunni friends who were serving food and water to the Shiite pilgrims were killed and wounded in the attacks.

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The company, whose holdings range from ports to real estate, shocked world markets on Wednesday with an announcement that it would seek, until at least May, a deferment on its debts and those of its real estate arm, Nakheel PJSC. That subsidiary has a $3.5 billion bond coming due next month.

The announcement was the clearest indication yet that the conglomerate, which has been a primary engine behind Dubai's meteoric growth over the past decade, was in way over its head in terms of debts. The company's obligations alone account for the overwhelming majority of the at least $80 billion Dubai owes to creditors.

Dubai World "totally rejected the idea of selling some of its good investment and real estate assets at low prices," a company official was quoted as saying by Al-Itihad newspaper on Sunday.

The official said that any asset sale needed to be in a "commercially fair manner in order to achieve (Dubai World's) long-term strategic objectives, away from ... economic pressures."

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