A fighter from the Sadik unit of Free Syrian Army's Tahrir al Sham brigade fires his Draganov sniper rifle from inside a house during a heavy fighting in Damascus on Tuesday, January 22. Click through to view images from the Syrian conflict from December and January, or see photos from November.
A fighter walks inside a house during heavy fighting in Mieha suburb of Damascus on January 22.
Missing exterior walls of a building reveal homes in the Mieha suburb of Damascus on Monday, January 21.
Members of the Free Syrian Army pray on one of the streets of Aleppo on January 21.
A Free Syrian Army fighter moves inside a house in Haresta neighborhood of Damascus on Sunday, January 20.
Fighters fire rifles on Syrian Army soldiers at a check point in Haresta neighborhood of Damascus on January 20.
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks between buildings damaged during Syrian Air Force strikes in Damascus on Saturday, January 19.
A rebel fighter runs for cover in Damascus on January 19.
Rebel fighters stand in a house at a frontline in the Arabeen neighborhood of Damascus on January 19.
A Syrian rebel fighter tries to locate a government jet fighter in Aleppo on Friday, January 18.
A rebel fighter ducks for cover from government jet fighters in Aleppo on January 18.
Rebel fighters take cover as they cross a street in Aleppo on January 18.
Emergency personnel gather next to the scene of an explosion in Aleppo, Syria on January 18.
An anti-regime fighter rests in a rebel controlled area of Aleppo on January 18.
Fighters watch smoke rising from a bombing in Aleppo on January 18.
Rebel fighters try to locate a government fighter jet in the sky above Aleppo during fighting on January 18.
Rebel fighters push an abandoned Syrian army tank with the aid of a tractor in Aleppo on January 18. The tank is to be repaired and used by rebels.
Emergency personnel inspect the scene of an explosion in Aleppo, Syria, on January 18.
Men pass by buildings destroyed by Syrian air force air strikes in the Duma neighborhood of Damascus on Thursday, January 17.
Free Syrian Army fighters rest in Mleha suburb in Damascus on January 17.
Damaged vehicles sit between dormitories and the architecture facility at Aleppo University, following an explosion on Tuesday, January 15. A monitoring group reported deaths and dozens of injuries.
Syrian government troops take position in a heavily damaged area in Aleppo on Saturday, January 12.
A Syrian rebel sniper takes position during clashes with government troops defending the Minakh military airport near Aleppo on Friday, January 11.
A Syrian mother and her two children walk through the mud after the first snow of the year fell the previous night at a refugee camp in Bab al-Salam on the Syria-Turkey border, on Wednesday, January 9.
A Syrian boy walks near rubbish next to tents at a refugee camp near the northern city of Azaz on the Syria-Turkey border, home to more than 7,000 people mostly from the northern districts of Aleppo and Marea, on Tuesday, January 8.
Syrians look for survivors amongst the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in the al-Mashhad neighborhood of Aleppo on Monday, January 7.
A rebel fighter, right, prepares the wires of a car-mounted camera to spy on Syrian government forces in Aleppo's Old City on January 7.
TV monitors broadcast the live feed from a camera on a car that rebels use to monitor government forces in Aleppo on January 7.
Syrians search for survivors in the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in Aleppo on January 7.
Syrians walk through debris in Aleppo after a missile hit a building January 7.
A teen rebel fighter runs behind a makeshift barrier in Aleppo on Sunday, January 6, while snipers loyal to the government monitor the street.
Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Deir Al-Zor on Friday, January 4.
A resident reacts to the death of two of his children who activists said were killed during shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the al-Ansari area of Aleppo on Thursday, January 3.
Syrians carry the body of a victim who activists said was killed during the bombing in the al-Ansari area of Aleppo, January 3.
A street is filled with debris after fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels in Aleppo on January 3.
Rebel fighters inspect the debris on a street in the Bustan al-Basha district in the Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, January 1.
Syrians reach for bread at a bakery in Aleppo on Monday, December 31.
Free Syrian Army fighters stand near damaged cars in Aleppo on Thursday, December 27.
A man walks near a missile on Tuesday, December 25, at an army barracks outside Damascus, Syria, that has been taken over by the Free Syrian Army.
Free Syrian Army fighters prepare a homemade missile before they launch it toward the military airport in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, December 23.
Free Syrian Army members display shrapnel from what they say are the remains of a rocket fired from the Syrian army in northern Aleppo on Thursday, December 20.
An unexploded bomb is seen lodged in a street in Ghouta, east of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, December 19.
A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his weapon through a hole in the wall of the structure where he is positioned in the Qastal Harami area of Aleppo on December 19.
A child sits in the back of a vehicle at the border crossing leading to Masnaa, Lebanon, as people wait to stamp their documents before leaving Syria on December 19. Click through to view images from Syria from December, or see photos of the conflict from November.
Palestinian children who fled the Syrian refugee camp of Yarmuk wait at the Masnaa Border Crossing leading into Lebanon on December 19.
Syrians line up outside a bakery offering cheap bread in Aleppo, Syria on Sunday, December 16.
A Syrian boy walks past a rebel fighter in the northern town of Darkush, Syria, on Friday, December 14.
Two men on a motorcycle lead a horse through the northern town of Darkush, Syria, on December 14, 2012.
Rebel fighters push out a boat carrying two Syrian women fleeing to Turkey through the Orontes River near the northern Syrian town of Darkush on December 14.
Passengers gather at a terminal at the airport in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday, December 12.
A member of the Syrian opposition's Al-Buraq Brigade stands guard on a main road in the northern Syrian town of Ain Dakna near the Turkish border on Monday, December 10. Click through to view images of the fighting from December, or see photos of the conflict from November.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position as he aims his weapon in Aleppo's al-Amereya district on Tuesday, December 11.
Men warm themselves by a fire on a street corner in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, December 9.
A rebel soldier watches Al-Jazeera news in a shop near the front lines in Aleppo on December 9.
A rebel soldier prays in a shop in Aleppo on December 9.
Syrians mourn a fallen fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on Saturday, December 8.
A Syria rebel commander sits behind a desk in his bombed-out position in Aleppo on December 8.
A Syrian rebel fighter emerges from a hole in a wall in Aleppo on December 8.
Rebel fighters take part in a demonstration against the Syrian regime after Friday prayers in Aleppo on December 7.
A wounded rebel fighter is transported to a hospital in the back of a truck in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday, December 6. At least 23 people died in Syria on Thursday, most of them in Damascus and Aleppo, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.
Rebel soldiers stand guard inside a building in Aleppo on December 6.
Angelina Jolie, special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, meets with Syrian refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp outside Mafraq, Jordan, on December 6.
In this handout from the Shaam News Network, Free Syrian Army fighters stand guard against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-khalidiya neighborhood of Homs on Tuesday, December 4.
In this handout from the Shaam News Network, Free Syrian Army fighters take cover in destroyed buildings during clashes with regime forces on December 4.
Syrians cross the border from Ras al-Ain, Syria, to the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar on Tuesday, December 4.
Boys walk through a damaged area In Aleppo, Syria, seen through a destroyed car on December 4.
A man inspects rubble in a neighborhood of Aleppo on Sunday, December 2.
The bodies of three children reportedly killed in a mortar shell attack are laid out for relatives to identify at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on December 2.
Smoke rises from fighting in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts of Aleppo on Saturday, December 1.
Syrian-Kurdish women and members of the Popular Protection Units, an armed opposition group to the Syrian government, stand guard during a comrade's funeral in a northern Syrian border village on December 1.
- Rebels: A major piece of remaining government-controlled territory is Mannagh airbase
- Fighting around Mannagh has devastated the farms and villages
- While rebels appear to have trapped government troops, they have also suffered losses
Mannagh, Syria (CNN) -- Here in the north, rebels call it "the final battle." For more than a month, lightly armed fighters have hurled themselves against a well-fortified helicopter base located less than a 15-minute drive from the border with Turkey.
The rebels say the last piece of government-controlled territory between Turkey and Syria's largest city, Aleppo, is Mannagh airbase. The battle for it is a modern-day siege.
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"It is like a germ infecting the countryside. If the regime has even a 1% chance of taking back this region, this is a base that they would then want to rule from," said Abu Marwan, the young commander of the rebel Northern Storm brigade. "Once it has been captured, the north will be liberated."
But it is not clear how long the final battle for Mannagh airbase will ultimately take.
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The siege does underscore one important point: It has taken less than a year for Syria's rebels to go from being hunted in their homes to now encircling and attacking some of the largest military bases in the country.
If and when this airbase falls, the rebels will be able to declare themselves the undisputed rulers of the north.
Spying from the olive groves
The fighting around Mannagh has devastated the farms and villages that dot this verdant corner of Syria.
Intermittent gunfire crackles across the countryside. Periodically, artillery from inside the base unleashes devastating cannon fire that sends up plumes of smoke and dust from shattered, deserted villages around the installation.
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"The day the airport falls will be a holiday," said a farmer who asked only to be called Abu Yashar, to protect himself from retribution. Abu Yashar long ago sent his family away for safety and was one of the only civilians seen during a recent visit to the battle zone. His house was located about five kilometers, or three miles, from the airbase, where machine guns could be heard rattling for more than an hour.
Abu Yashar pointed out small bomb craters in his surrounding fields and displayed an unexploded mortar round that landed on his property. He also showed where artillery shells from the airbase slammed into his tractor and into a concrete shed.
Read more: Syrian rebels claim capture of strategic military base
"Everything the people need to survive is being targeted by the regime," the farmer said.
The airbase itself is a sprawling walled compound located not too far off a main road.
From amid the cover of tidy rows of olive trees that surround the installation, one can see with the naked eye at least three helicopters parked on the tarmac.
It was here in the olive groves that Abu Marwan and another commander named Abu Jelan had set up a telescope to spy on their enemy.
"The soldiers have started moving from inside the restaurant," Abu Jelan announced into a walkie-talkie, as he peered through the scope. He tried to call in sniper fire. "Guys, snipers! They're moving from the clubhouse to the west. They're running."
The two commanders were helping a rebel mortar team at another location target their attacks on the base.
Before every round of mortar fire, the fighters murmured a little prayer to each other over their radios.
After thunderous explosions, they tried to assess the impact of their attack.
"It landed 10 meters short of the wall," a man on the radio said after one mortar attack.
Another mortar misfired and could be heard spinning out of control and landing far short of the base.
Disappointed, Abu Marwan explained the rebels were trying to use homemade artillery rounds. But then he proudly displayed an enormous, 30-foot-long cannon his men had captured from the Syrian military.
"We will use their own weapons against them," he said, pointing to a plate engraved with Syrian military logos, fixed to the base of the cannon.
Sizing up the siege
Though the rebels appear to have trapped the government troops, they have also suffered losses.
At least two top commanders in the Northern Storm Brigade have been wounded. Their loss has propelled Abu Marwan, a surprisingly shy pilot in his 20s who defected from the Syrian military more than a year ago, into a top leadership position.
"I may be the youngest fighter in the group," the former lieutenant said with a smile, after declining to reveal his exact age.
Videos secretly filmed by opposition activists show Syrian soldiers almost casually walking around tanks and tents in the airbase.
Last Sunday, rebels said the defenders broke through the siege lines to receive a much-needed delivery of supplies under cover of darkness. First, warplanes roared overhead, they said, sending people running for cover. It was then that a helicopter flew in, picked up wounded soldiers, and dropped off supplies before leaving.
A special forces soldier who escaped from the base and surrendered to rebels last week told CNN the troops inside were segregated between mostly Sunni Muslim foot soldiers like himself and officers who were predominantly Alawite, the same religious minority as Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
"They discriminate between the Alawites and Sunnis," said the soldier, a 22-year-old man from the southern city of Deraa, who asked not to be named.
"The Sunnis go to the front almost as if they are human shields ... and all the Alawites stay behind."
The soldier said there were large stores of food and even supplies of electricity for commanders.
As for weapons, "we have so many weapons at the airport I can't even count. But despite that I could (see) that (the rebels) are not afraid."
The siege forces appear to have received fresh reinforcements in past weeks.
Read more: What's next for Syria in 2013?
Last weekend, a CNN team of journalists traveled towards the front lines escorted by a young activist from an opposition media center in the nearby anti-regime town of Azaz.
Shortly after passing a line of bombed out buses and trucks serving as a barricade, the reporters were intercepted by a small group of fighters, who covered their faces once they spotted cameras.
"I am very sorry that you traveled all this way, but you have to leave," their hooded leader explained politely, yet firmly, in fluent English. "This is a restricted military zone."
The guide from the Azaz Media Center later explained that the fighters were members of an Islamist rebel group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. He said another group of fighters spotted around several parked pickup trucks were members of al-Nusra Front.
Last month the U.S. government blacklisted al-Nusra, declaring it a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda. However, al-Nusra rebels continue racking up victories on the battlefield and appear to be attracting growing respect from many supporters of Syria's weary armed opposition.
Streaming out of Syria
Syrians and foreigners continue to flee the fighting.
Nearly 5,900 refugees entered neighboring Jordan over the previous 24 hours, the kingdom's state-run news agency, Petra, reported Tuesday. Border guards gave the refugees humanitarian aid and took them to Zaatari refugee camp.
Russia was planning to fly out about 80 of its nationals who have managed to leave Syria, government officials said, according to RIA Novosti. Two planes arrived in Beirut from Moscow to evacuate the Russian nationals, who have made their way to Lebanon.
"The group includes Russian women who have married Syrians, their children and husbands who have acquired Russian citizenship," RIA Novosti said, adding they will be flown to Moscow.
At least 51 people died in the civil warfare on Tuesday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report
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