Hardline Islamist Rebels Show How They Purportedly Got Under a Syrian Army Headquarters

Islamist rebels reportedly dug tunnels to attack a hotel which serves as the Syrian Army headquarters in Aleppo and posted a video online showing their underground staging area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that on Friday rebels detonated mines under the Carlton Hotel, killing at least five soldiers and pro-Assad militiamen.

"Islamist rebels dug several tunnels under and around the Carlton hotel in Aleppo's Old City, where government troops are positioned. They used mines to detonate it this morning," the French news agency AFP quoted the Observatory statement.

"At least five troops were killed and 18 others wounded in the attack, which also damaged parts of the hotel," the Observatory added.

Islamist rebels in Syria posted video online offering a tour of the underground tunnels they say led to the Carlton Hotel. (Screenshot: Insurgent video via Reuters/YouTube)

In battles that broke out after the bombing, an unknown number of rebels were killed, the Observatory reported.

According to Lebanon’s newspaper the Daily Star, insurgents trying to topple President Bashar Assad’s regime “have used this tactic before.”

Reuters reported that rebels posted video on social media sites offering a tour of their Aleppo tunnels prior to the attack which they claimed led to the Carlton Hotel.

Islamist rebels posted video of smoke billowing above the Carlton Hotel, a local headquarters for the Syrian Army. (Screenshot: Insurgent video via Reuters/YouTube)

"We are putting our last touches on and doing some measuring so we can make sure that we are under the Carlton Hotel. We are going to add the explosives after we finish everything and you are going to hear good news, Aleppo people,” one of the rebels said according to a Reuters translation.

The rebels claimed the size of the tunnel was about 80 yards long and 11 yards deep.

The video went on to show billowing smoke above the hotel after it was attacked.

Like nearly all video emerging from war-torn Syria, TheBlaze is unable to independently verify it.

Reuters posted its video report on YouTube: