Syria dismissed as a "barefaced lie" on Saturday American and British claims it may have used chemical arms, as staunch ally Russia warned against using such fears to launch a military intervention in the strife-torn country.

"First of all, I want to confirm that statements by the U.S. secretary of state and British government are inconsistent with reality and a barefaced lie," Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said in an interview published on the Kremlin-funded Russia Today's website.

Fighters loyal to Hizbullah were killed on Saturday in battles near the Lebanese border around al-Qusayr, according to activists.

The Local Coordination Committees in Syria reported that six members of Hizbullah were killed in battles in Reef al-Qusayr in Homs.

Syrian rebels attacked a sprawling military air base in the country's northwest on Saturday, while in the south opposition forces assaulted a string of army checkpoints and positions, activists said.

The raids follow nearly two weeks of advances by Syrian troops, mostly in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and areas near the Lebanese border in the central province of Homs.

Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who has been tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up the case of the abducted Lebanese pilgrims, called on Saturday on Iran to exert efforts to free the nine men.

“We briefed the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon (Ghazanfar Roknabadi) on our endeavors and urged him to call on his country to resolve the case,” Zgheib told reporters after talks with the Iranian diplomat.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pointed a finger on Saturday at the civil war in neighboring Syria for the return of sectarian strife to Iraq, as a five-day wave of violence has killed 215 people.

And the head of the Sahwa anti-Qaida militia forces threatened war on militants if those who have killed Iraqi soldiers are not turned over.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation urged on Saturday an "unconditional" release of two bishops kidnapped this week in Syria.

OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemned the kidnapping on Monday of Aleppo's Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim by armed men as they were en route to the northern city from the Turkish border.

An empty soda bottle, crushed charcoal and cola-soaked gauze -- Syrian rebels are scrambling to protect against chemical attacks by regime forces by cobbling together “do it yourself” gas masks from household items.

U.S. President Barack Obama has renewed a warning to Damascus that the use of chemical arms would cross a "red line" as evidence emerged the deadly nerve agent sarin may have been used against the rebels.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hoped on Saturday that the unanimity on Tammam Salam's nomination would allow the premier-designate to quickly form the new government, warning against the prolongation of Syria's conflict and its repercussions on Lebanon.

“We hope that the unanimity on his nomination would reflect on the cabinet formation process and allow Salam to quickly form it,” Bogdanov told reporters in al-Msaitbeh after holding talks with the prime minister-designate.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday promised a "vigorous investigation" into reports Syrian forces fired chemical weapons and renewed his warning that proof of their use would be a "game changer."

Obama delivered the warning during talks at the White House with King Abdullah II of Jordan, as he faced rising political pressure for a military intervention in the vicious Syrian civil war.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Friday called on Russia to exert efforts to end the war that has been raging in Syria for more than two years.

During talks in Mukhtara with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Jumblat said: “We see in Bogdanov's visit an additional indication on the Lebanese-Russian friendship and Mukhtara will not forget the moral, material and political support offered by Russia when Lebanon was facing the partitioning scheme.”