Syrian rebels walk out of Astana peace talks after air strikes on bases

Syrian rebels, all of whom turned up for the fourth round of the Astana peace talks, walked out Wednesday, citing Syrian air force bombardments of their strongholds and a bomb car explosion outside the Bazzaz mosque in northern Syrian near the Turkish border. They were in the middle of discussing a Russian plan for four “de-escalation zones,” when they announced they were suspending their participation until government bombing of areas under their control was stopped.  Opposition sources said they were not leaving the talks altogether and Kazakh officials expected their return Thursday.