88 dead in 2 days of clashes in Syria's Daraa,

At least 88 rebel and regime forces have been killed in two days ofclashes for control of strategic sites in Syria's southern Daraa province, anmonitoring group said Saturday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain said 45 oppositionfighters and 43 regime forces had been killed in the fighting that began on Thursday.Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that rebel forces, includingfighters from Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, had seized the strategic Talal-Jabiyeh hill on Thursday.Clashes were continuing as the opposition fighters sought to take another hilltopnearby in a bid to connect territory they hold in Daraa and the Quneitra region,alongside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.The Observatory said rebel forces had seized weapons and ammunition during theclashes and that regime forces had called in support from heavy artillery and helicopters to try to retake the hill.On Saturday, Abdel Rahman said, the opposition was focusing its efforts on capturing Tal Jamu, some five kilometres (three miles) from Tal al-Jabiyeh, in a bidto link areas under its control.