Jihadist fighters of Al-Nusra Front have seized control of a checkpoint on northeast Syria's border with Iraq, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

The rebels overran the post at Yaarubiyeh in oil-rich Hassakeh province on Thursday after fierce clashes with government forces, the Britain-based Observatory said in a statement.

Russia said on Friday that decisions made at a Friends of Syria meeting in Rome this week, which saw the United States pledge direct aid to Syrian rebels, encouraged "extremists" who want to seize power by force.

"The decisions made in Rome as well as the statements, both in letter and spirit, give direct encouragement to extremists to take power by force, despite the unavoidable suffering of ordinary Syrians," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

U.S. and European decisions to back Syria's rebels with direct aid will only lead to more bloodshed and encourage "terrorism" in the war-torn country, a pro-Damascus daily said on Friday.

At a Friends of Syria meeting in Rome, Washington said on Thursday that it would provide the insurgents with non-lethal aid, while Brussels left the door open for a similar move and extended sanctions against the Damascus regime.

The Syrian opposition has accused government forces of having executed 72 people and burned their bodies in a village near the embattled northern city of Aleppo.

President Bashar Assad's "terrorist regime executed 72 people after a raid on Malkiyeh village near the town of Sfeira in the east of Aleppo province," the National Coalition charged in a statement issued Thursday.

A prominent Iranian security chief was present in Lebanon at the time of the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan last year, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the newspaper, Brigadier “Hindawi,” one of Iran's elite Quds Force who is close to the commander of the Force General Qassem Suleimani, was in Lebanon when the assassination occurred.

The European Union on Thursday renewed wide-ranging sanctions against Syria's Bashar Assad but left the door open to providing technical assistance, including training, to the country's political opposition.

An amendment to the EU's sanctions, which will be renewed for three months from Friday, notably enables "the provision of technical assistance, brokering services and other services for the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces intended for the protection of civilians."

French President Francois Hollande and his Russian host Vladimir Putin said Thursday they shared the same objectives on Syria, but there were few signs their talks led to any breakthrough on concrete steps to resolve the conflict.

Hollande said both Russia and France had the same goal to bring peace while avoiding the collapse of Syria but differed in particular on the role of President Bashar Assad in a power transfer.

A Syrian opposition meeting scheduled for Saturday in Istanbul to elect a prime minister for a government of rebel-held zones has been postponed and no new date set, the opposition coalition said.

"The conference has been postponed and no new date has been set. I cannot reveal the reasons at this time and I do not exclude its cancellation," National Coalition member Samir Nashar told Agence France Presse on Thursday.

The head of Syrian Air on Thursday invited foreign airlines to resume flights to Damascus, offering discounts and giving assurances that security has been restored on the airport road.

"I call on airlines to resume their flights and operations through Damascus International Airport, as well as Latakia airport (western Syria) and Qamishli airport (in the east)," Ghaida Abdel Latif told Agence France Presse.

U.S., European and Arab officials gathered for the "Friends of Syria" meeting in Rome promised on Thursday to provide more concrete assistance to the opposition battling President Bashar Assad's regime.

"The ministers pledged more political and material support to the (National) Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and to get more concrete assistance inside Syria," host country Italy said in a statement after the talks between 11 nations and the Syrian opposition.