Rebels have detonated mines in tunnels under a hotel used by the army in Aleppo in northern Syria, killing at least five soldiers.
A rebel fighter with a rocket launcher in Aleppo. Photo: AFP
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 18 others were wounded. The mines also damaged parts of the hotel.
Several tunnels were dug under and around the Carlton hotel in the Old City, where government troops are positioned. The mines were detonated on Friday morning.
Fierce fighting broke out afterwards, in which an unknown number of rebels were killed.
Insurgents fighting to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have used this tactic before, both in Aleppo and in Damascus province.
Elsewhere, a car bomb killed 18 people in front of a mosque in Yaduda, a rebel-held village in the southern province of Daraa, said the Observatory.
