BEIRUT — Activists say Syrian rebels have captured a helicopter base near the capital Damascus.

The director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, says rebels seized control of the Marj al-Sultan base on the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday morning.

He says at least 15 rebels and eight soldiers were killed in the fighting that started a day earlier.

Abdul-Rahman and Damascus-based activist Maath al-Shami say rebels destroyed two helicopters with rocket propelled grenades and captured a tank. They say the base houses several radar systems.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, inspired by other Arab Spring revolts. It quickly morphed into a civil war that has since killed more than 40,000 people, according to activists.