At least 700 killed in Syria rebel-jihadist battle

Rebel fighter walks down street in Aleppo Fierce fighting between jihadists and rival rebel groups in Syria in the past nine days has killed at least 700 and led to the disappearance of hundreds more, an NGO said Sunday. Since early January, opposition groups have been battling the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is accused of abuses against other rebels, activists and civilians in areas where they operate.   
"From January 3 to 11, the fighting killed 697 people, among them 351 rebel fighters, 246 members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and 100 civilians," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding dozens more deaths have yet to be documented.
The Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of activists across Syria for its reports, also said there were "hundreds of captives from both sides whose fate is unknown."
In a reflection of the brutality of the fighting, which has raged mainly in the northern provinces of Aleppo, Idlib and Raqa but has also hit Hama and Homs, at least 200 people were killed in one 48-hour period.
Source: AFP