Assad army kills 65 rebels east of Damascus

 Sixty-five rebel fighters were killed in a regime army ambush at dawn on Wednesday near the town of Adra, 35 km, east of Damascus, 'Dumair Local coordination said.

It’s the second ambush within a month at the same area, where the fighters were heading Dumair, 45 km, from east Ghouta, some of the fighters were wounded and needed an urgent treatment in Dumeir field Hospital, others were Aid and relief workers, Syria Live News Network reported. 

''The regime got advantage of the heavy military arsenal in Dumeir Air base besides the advanced Air defense brigades surrounding the semi-desert area in chasing the rebels,'' the source added.

The state news agency SANA did not give a death toll for the ambush but said the rebels were from the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front. It said all the rebels were killed and machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades confiscated, Reuters reported.

SANA said the "terrorists" included non-Syrians and the Observatory said that eight rebels were still unaccounted for after the attack, which happened west of an industrial area east of Adra.

Assad's forces have been on the offensive around Damascus after rebels pushed into towns and suburbs on the outskirts of the capital last year. Adra is in the Eastern Ghouta region, which has been besieged by the army for months.

More than 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict, according to Syrian Human rights NGO's. Protesters took to the streets in March 2011 to call for democratic reforms but were fired on by security forces, leading to an armed uprising.

Reuters reported that the army has made efforts to secure the capital and its links to the western coast while the rebels have overrun much of the north and east.