• In Syria, the battle for Aleppo

    Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    Fighters from the Syrian opposition rest at a former primary school in the center of Syria's restive northern city of Aleppo on July 25.

    Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    A fighter with the Syrian opposition holds a Koran, Islam's holy book, and a rocket-propelled grenade.

    Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    The mother of Usame Mircan, who was allegedly killed by a Syrian government sniper, mourns over his body with family and friends in the center Aleppo on July 25.

    Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

    A fighter from the Syrian opposition takes aims during clashes in Aleppo on July 25.

     

    Reuters reports: The 16-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad has been transformed from an insurgency in remote provinces into a battle for control of the two main cities, Aleppo and the capital, Damascus, where fighting exploded last week.

    Assad's forces have launched massive counter assaults in both cities. They appear to have beaten rebels back from neighborhoods in the capital and are turning towards Aleppo, a commercial hub in the north.

    Dozens are reported dead in Syria where opposition forces are fighting to maintain control of Syria's commercial capital and biggest city. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    See more photo stories on Syria

    Slideshow: Syria uprising

    After months of protests and violent crackdowns, a look back at the violence that has overtaken the country.

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  • Disturbing scenes in Iranian parliament as lawmakers call for execution of opposition leaders

    Raouf Mohseni / Mehr News via Reuters

    Members of the Iranian parliament shout slogans calling for the execution of opposition leaders before the start of their session in Tehran on Feb. 15. Iranian lawmakers urged judiciary on Tuesday to hand out death penalties to opposition leaders for fomenting unrest in the Islamic state after a rally in which one person was killed and dozens were wounded, state media said.

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    Iranian lawmakers urged judiciary on Tuesday to hand out death penalties to opposition leaders for fomenting unrest in the Islamic state after a rally in which one person was killed and dozens were wounded, state media said.

    Clashes broke out between security forces and protesters when thousands of opposition supporters rallied in sympathy for popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia on Monday, reviving mass protests that shook Iran after a presidential vote in 2009.

    "(Opposition leaders) Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi are corrupts on earth and should be tried," the official IRNA news agency quoted lawmakers as saying in a statement.

    The loose term "Corrupt on Earth," a charge which has been leveled at political dissidents in the past, carries the death penalty in Iran.

    Iranian authorities have repeatedly accused opposition leaders of being part of a Western plot to overthrow the Islamic system. The claim has been denied by Mousavi and Karroubi.

    Read the full story.