Free Syrian Army controls a key road to Turkish border capture tanks of government forces 3107121

Conflict in the World - Syria

The outpost was a restaurant outside the town of Anadan, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Aleppo, that had been commandeered by government troops and surrounded by earthworks. Rebels were putting the captured armor to work Monday by shelling an air base outside Azaz, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) farther north, said Ahmed Afesh, a commander with the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Afesh showed off two Soviet-era T-55 tanks captured by his men Monday, as well as an armored personnel carrier and the smoldering wreckage of another destroyed during the fighting. Rebel fighters and civilians greeted him with handshakes and kisses.

The rebels also have been able to establish growing enclaves in northern Syria and made attempts to seize a number of key border crossings last week. They already control much of the main western highway from Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital and largest city, to the Turkish border. And after the overnight battle outside the town of Anadan, traffic moved freely on a road that had been too dangerous for motorists days before.

But fighting continued inside Aleppo on Monday. U.N. observers reported the use of helicopters, tanks and artillery in the city, the head of the international monitoring mission, Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye, said Monday. And opposition activists said government forces used helicopter gunships to launch rocket attacks on rebel fighters.