In this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 photo, Syrian rebel fighters flash the victory sign while moving past a building destroyed partly in a government shelling in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's President Bashar Assad is adamant his regime will not fall and predicts the defeat of the armed opposition that has been fighting his troops.

Assad says the rebels "will not succeed" and that a foreign military intervention such as the one that helped topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will "not be repeated" in Syria.

The comments were published Friday in Egypt's Al-Ahram Al-Arabi weekly.

The interview with Assad came a day after regime airstrikes hit a gas station in northern Syria, setting off a fiery explosion that killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens.

Syria's 18-month crisis has morphed into a bloody civil war and the violence has claimed the lives of more than 23,000 people, according to activists.
Associated Press
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