MAARET IKHWAN, Syria (AP) — Sixteen grunting rebel fighters dropped down for pushups in a rain-slick backyard, practiced storming a house from the cover of an olive grove, and then assembled for a refresher course on firing rocket-propelled grenades.

Their instructor, a former Syrian commando, said his young trainees still have a lot to learn, but that their drive to topple President Bashar Assad already makes them better soldiers than the regime’s conscripts.