Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has
said he is "sure of victory" over rebels fighting to topple him, in a message to
the army.
"If we in Syria were not sure of victory, we would not have had the will
to... persevere in the face of more than two years of aggression," he said.
Meanwhile, the UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights reported a huge blast in Homs city.
It said 40 had been killed in a rocket strikes by rebels on a weapons
depot.
Unverified footage apparently showed the strike blasting a huge fireball high
into the air above the city, and causing secondary explosions.
It comes after troops recaptured a key district of Homs on Monday.
A month ago, troops launched an offensive to oust rebels from the city.
The army has also been on the offensive in the eastern suburbs of the capital
and west of the main northern city of Aleppo.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23529440