AP PHOTOS: Scenes from fighting in Syria

In this Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012 photograph, Syrians pass by a destroyed house in town of Atareb outskirts of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012 photograph, Syrians pass by a destroyed house in town of Atareb outskirts of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday Aug. 5, 2012 photo, Syrians are seen through a destroyed wall as they walk on a street in town of Atareb outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday Aug. 5, 2012 photo, a Syrian man is seen in the back as he stands next to his motorcycle by the destroyed shops in the town of Atareb on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo)

In this Sunday Aug. 5, 2012, photo, a Syrian man holds bullets he picked from a wall in a damaged house in the town of Atareb outskirts of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo)

Syrians walk on a street at the entrance to the town of Anadan on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. (AP Photo)

Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has suffered a series of setbacks over the past month that point to a loosening of its grip on the country.

Four of the president's top security aides were killed in a rebel bombing of state security headquarters in Damascus on July 18. There has been a steady stream of high-level defections ? from diplomats to generals to the prime minister.

But power remains closely held within Assad's inner circle. And the regime retains the ability to fight rebels in places such as Aleppo, Syria's largest city, which it has pounded with shelling and warplanes.

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Here is a photo gallery of images from Aleppo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-08-06-Syria-Photo%20Gallery/id-a7f6c29415ef4faf9298e312b714753e

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