Syrian government forces have retaken a key airbase on the outskirts of the capital Damascus after a battle with rebels, military sources said. The airbase in the town of Marj al-Sultan, which lies some 15km (nine miles) east of Damascus, was captured by regime troops on 14 December – more than three years after it fell into rebel hands. "The Syrian army has taken full control of the town of Marj al-Sultan and its airport in Eastern Ghouta," a military source told the AFP. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the regime's offensive to retake the airbase began last month and was supported by fighters from the Lebanese militant outfit Hezbollah.