DAMASCUS, Aug. 29 -- As many as 150 armed rebels were reportedly killed and injured in renewed Syrian airstrikes against their positions in the capital Damascus' eastern suburb of Jobar on Friday, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said.

The Syrian air forces intensified their raids against Jobar on Friday, just a day after the army forces declared the commencement of their wide-scale offensive to dislodge the rebels out of Jobar.

The sound of the war jets were clearly heard roaring over the capital on their way to Jobar, witnesses said.

The Syrian troops started a ground incursion on Thursday evening amid reports that they have advanced a couple of blocks inside that rebel-held area.

Jobar, which lies 2 km northeast of the walls of the old city of Damascus, has posed a threat to the government-controlled eastern districts of the capital throughout the country's long- running conflict as rebels positioned in the suburb have repeatedly attempted to breach the capital from Jobar.