Damascus, June 11 (IANS): Syria's official TV on Thursday denied as "baseless" reports that a key airbase was taken by rebels in the southern province of Swaida.

Guards at the al-Tha'la airbase, in the western countryside of Swaida, have foiled attacks on the facility, Xinhua news agency reported citing the official TV.

It was responding to earlier reports by activist groups that several militant groups captured large parts of the facility on Thursday, one day after rebels announced the start of their campaign to "liberate" the airbase.

The western countryside of Swaida, a predominantly Druze province, has been under threat from militant groups who captured the Brigade 52 base on the outskirts of the adjacent Daraa province.

SOHR said intense clashes continued till dawn on Thursday between jihadi groups and the Syrian army near al-Tha'la, an airbase in western Swaida.

The Druze minority, along with other minority groups in Syria, has emerged as supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, fearing the expansion of radical jihadi groups that showed no tolerance for minority groups in Syria.

On Wednesday, at least 20 Syrian Druze were killed when the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front opened fire at a group of civilians in a town in the northwestern province of Idilb, SOHR, Syrian media said.

The incident marked the first instance where the Druze people were directly targeted by jihadis.