BEIRUT -- Syria's elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels outside the capital Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began last year, activists said.
The clashes erupted near Republican Guard housing compounds and bases in the suburbs of Qudsaya and Hammah, about five miles (eight kilometers) from central Damascus, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said several people have been reported killed but gave no figures.
The job of the Republican Guard, which is commanded by Assad's younger brother Maher, is to protect the capital, the seat of the regime's power...