Beirut, Muharram 10, 1434, Nov 24, 2012, SPA - Heavy shelling by regime forces on Saturday targeted schools scattered across opposition-held areas along the outskirts of Damascus, activists said. "Dozens of schools were targeted by government forces since Friday night, in the areas of Tadamon, Azamiyah Al-Sham and Zabandani," activist Haytham al-Abdallah told dpa. Al-Abdallah said the troops' shelling is aiming at destroying education and health facilities in opposition-held areas across Syria. Elsewhere, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy fighting in the northern provinces, especially in Aleppo, where opposing fighters staged a wide-scale attack on an army base at the outskirts of the city. The observatory said the opposition attack has inflicted heavy casualties, but did not specify numbers. --SPA 12:58 LOCAL TIME 09:58 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1051870