Oil-pipeline blasted in Syria

Syrian troops pounded and raided several rebel bastions across the country and clashes erupted in Homs early on Tuesday, as two pipelines were attacked in the country's east and north, a watchdog said.

Syrian forces clashed with armed rebels before dawn Tuesday in Homs where a soldier was killed amid "intermittent shelling" of several neighborhoods of the central city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Clashes took place this morning between regime forces and rebels in the vicinity of the Baba Amr neighborhood which has been under regime control since last March," the Observatory said.