At least 16 government troops have been killed in clashes with rebel fighters in another bloody day in Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the outbreaks of violence erupted almost simultaneously at dawn on Sunday.
According to the Britain-based watchdog, the fighting took place in the town of Dara Aza, and at military checkpoints near the town of Al-Atarib and the village of Kafr Halab - all within the northern province of Aleppo.
The killings followed the deaths of more than 230 people across Syria over the preceding 48 hours.
The Syrian Observatory said 116 people, two-thirds of them civilians, died on Saturday as regime forces stepped up attacks on towns.
At least 116 people were also reported killed on Friday.
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