Airstrikes kill 25 in opposition area near Syrian capital

BEIRUT (AP) - Syrian activists say at least 25 people were killed in airstrikes on a rebel-held area where militants had captured and killed a government fighter pilot.

The Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, counted seven medical personnel among those killed in the suspected government airstrikes on the town of Jeiroud, northeast of Damascus. It says the town was struck at least 40 times since early Saturday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll at 31 dead.

Rebels captured and interrogated a fighter pilot on camera in Jeiroud on Friday, after his plane crashed in the area. Photos circulated online later showed the pilot shot and killed.

The government says the pilot was on a training mission when his plane malfunctioned.