( CNN ) -- Opposition fighters are celebrating success in Syria 's north but enduring squalor in and around Damascus , where government forces are cutting off food and medical supplies , a rebel leader said Saturday . Syrian rebels chipped away at President Bashar al-Assad 's air power Saturday in Idlib province , where 800 fighters pummeled Taftanaz air base for the fourth day with anti-aircraft guns and tanks . Amid fighting , Al-Assad plans to deliver a speech Sunday on the latest developments in Syria and the region , state news said . Rebels have taken control of 70 % of the Taftanaz heliport , rebel leader Capt . Islam Aloush said from Damascus . Militia members killed the head of the base , he said . `` There are still about 30 snipers and a few dozen regime forces , but the fight is closing in on them . '' Al-Assad 's forces use the base mainly to launch helicopter attacks on nearby towns . Syrian warplanes dropped cluster bombs on Taftanaz in a raid that led to the destruction of several buildings , the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said Saturday . Since the rebel push on Taftanaz began , government forces have exacted retribution on the nearby city of Binnish , where amateur video posted on the Internet has shown dozens of smoke plumes marking where ordnance has struck . What 's next for Syria in 2013 ? Aloush said his Liwaa Islam militia and other groups want to target the many military bases in Idlib `` to minimize the reach of the regime 's warplanes . '' Opposition and government sources report that the extremist al-Nusra Front , which the United States has designated as a terrorist group , is taking part in the assault on Taftanaz . As al-Assad has lost some ground in the far north , he has tried to maintain the reach of his firepower by launching long-range Scud missiles at towns near Turkey 's border . U.S. troops began arriving Friday to operate Patriot missile defense batteries , deployed to intercept any Scuds that might cross into Turkey from Syria . Farther south in the Damascus suburbs , government forces have been cutting off food and , in particular , medical supplies for weeks , Aloush said . `` They have sometimes resorted to field executions when they find people smuggling in syringes and other basic medical items , '' he said . Rebels depend on the medical supply lines because they have to treat the wounded in safe locations inside the country . It is too difficult to evacuate them from the country , he said . Government forces target bakeries , reducing food supplies , he said , and ammunition and money are dwindling . `` When we are not taking over regime military posts , we are not getting enough ammo to fight the security forces , '' he said . In Syria , school opens to displaced children . Other opposition groups have also reported the government ratcheting up the battle in the capital . In Daraya , south of Damascus , 1,000 of Aloush 's men and other revolutionaries are holding out against a weeks-long offensive by the government , which wants to take the town back . `` Daraya is strategically located near very sensitive security buildings and military bases , '' Aloush said . Syria 's opposition still feels deserted by the international community . In an open letter Friday , Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib , head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces , implored the U.N. Security Council and world leaders to take action . `` Our people are subjected to genocide and our country is being destroyed as the international silence is only encouraging the regime to commit more crimes against humanity , '' he wrote . `` Halting massacres in Syria is an international obligation everyone should bear responsibility for . '' The overall death toll in Syria has surpassed 60,000 people , the United Nations says . At least 79 people were killed in Syria on Saturday , the LCC said , including 35 in Damascus and its suburbs . Eighteen people were killed in Idlib on Saturday , the group said . CNN can not independently confirm government or opposition reports out of Syria , as the government has restricted access by journalists .
NEW : At least 79 people killed Saturday , opposition group says . Rebels go after government air bases one by one in the north . Syrian troops cut off food , medicine and ammunition to rebels in Damascus . Al-Assad plans to deliver a speech on Sunday .