By . Alex Gore . PUBLISHED: . 12:16 EST, 22 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:28 EST, 22 March 2013 . Powerful images of a city ruined by Syria's civil war have emerged today after rebels took control of the area from government forces. The provincial capital of Raqqa is the first major city to fall entirely under rebel control, having been seized from the government last week. The pictures come as President . Assad vowed to 'cleanse' the country of Muslim extremists, whom he blames . for a suicide blast that killed at least 49 people. Defiance: Civilians in Raqqa hold up messages of freedom among the ruined buildings of the city . Reduced to rubble: The provincial capital is the first major city to fall entirely under rebel control . Trail of destruction: The photographs paint a shocking picture of a broken city destroyed by civil war . Victory: Raqqa is shaping up to be the best test case yet for how opposition fighters will administer territory . Opposition fighters and civilians posed . among the rubble of the northern city and clutched flags and signs . featuring messages of defiance against President Bashar Assad's regime. Militants captured security forces in public squares and have driven their bodies through the streets. They have posted guards at state buildings, returned soaring bread prices to pre-war levels and set up a hotline for residents to phone to report security issues, anti-regime activists said. Raqqa is shaping up to be the best test case yet for how opposition fighters will administer territory amid western concerns over who will fill the vacuum if President Assad is ousted. Death toll: The conflict has lasted two-years, with an estimated 70,000 people killed and countless wounded . In control: Rebels have posted guards at state buildings and returned soaring bread prices to pre-war levels . Brothers in arms: Proud rebel fighters make victory salutes in the shadow of ruined buildings . Bloody battle: Opposition fighters display what they claim is the body of a member of Assad's forces . But while the city's new rulers try to govern, they are struggling with the same divisions that have hampered the rebel movement's effectiveness throughout the fighting. Caught in the fighting: A mother and her children remained in the city despite the conflict . The conflict has lasted two-years, with an estimated 70,000 people killed and countless wounded. A a top Sunni preacher, who was a staunch supporter of the regime, was among those killed in the bombing in Damascus last night. The bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in the heart of the capital, killing Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti as he was giving a sermon, and wounding more than 80 others. In a statement carried by Syria's state SUNA news agency, Preisdent Assad said al-Buti represented true Islam. He said: 'Your blood and your grandson's, as well as that of all the nation's martyrs will not go in vain because we will continue to follow your thinking to wipe out their darkness and clear our country of them.' Earlier this week, Syria's main opposition group demanded a full international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in the north of the country. The Syrian National Coalition has blamed government forces and called for a team to be sent to the village of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province, where the missile attack reportedly occurred. Split: Raqqa's new rulers are struggling with the same divisions that have hampered the rebel movement . Finger pointing: The rebels and regime have traded accusations about a chemical attack in Khan al-Assal . Denied: A U.S. official said there is no evidence of chemical weapons, which are internationally prohibited . Conflict: If confirmed, it would be the first time a chemical weapon was used in Syria's two-year-long crisis . The rebels and regime traded accusations about the purported chemical attack, which if confirmed would be the first in the two-year-long crisis. The Coalition called for those responsible to be tried, and added: 'Chemical warfare is internationally prohibited. 'Its use against any . enemy is banned, however all evidence now indicates that the Assad . regime is using these weapons against its own people.' A U.S. official said there is no evidence that chemical weapons were used but a senior Israeli minister said it is 'apparently clear' that such weapons have been used, either by rebels of the regime. Revenge: President Assad, left, vowed to 'cleanse' Syria of extremists after the death of Sheikh al-Buti, right . Patrol: Rebels keep watch in the streets of the northern city after seizing it from government troops . Uprising: Opposition troops manage a smile despite the destruction around them in the provincial capital . Loyalist: A top Sunni preacher, a staunch supporter of the regime, was killed in the Damascus bombing . If confirmed, the attack would be the first time a chemical weapon was . used in Syria's two-year-long crisis. But a U.S. official has said there . was no evidence a chemical attack had happened. President Assad, meanwhile, has made a rare public appearance, visiting a fine arts school in the capital. Costly blow: Rebels were reported to have shot down a regime warplane in Raqqa province . He met the parents of . students who were killed in the civil war, state TV reported. It was his first public appearance outside his palace since January. Activists have reported violence around the country including clashes in Khan al-Assal, where the chemical attack reportedly occurred, suburbs of the capital and near the Damascus Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk. The Aleppo Media Center, an opposition media arm, said rebels shot down a regime warplane in the northern province of Raqqa, whose provincial capital fell in the hands of rebels earlier this month. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops were trying to storm the rebel-held neighborhood of Khaldiyeh in the central city of Homs, Syria's third-largest. Rebels have been holding the neighborhood for more than a year. In Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said five rockets fell on the Lebanese side of the border in the town of al-Qasr. It said there were no casualties. The rockets fell two days after the NNA said Syrian warplanes hit targets along Syria's border with Lebanon. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman strongly condemned the air raid while the Foreign Ministry in Damascus denied Syrian aircraft bombarded Lebanon. Hungry mouths: Rebel fighters stop for food in the area surrounding the captured city of Raqqa . Showing his face: President Assad has made his first public appearance outside his palace since January . Tough talk: President Assad has vowed to 'cleanse' the country of Muslim extremists .
Rebels and civilians pictured among the ruins of provincial capital Raqqa .
They clutch messages of defiance against President Assad's regime .
Militants captured security forces and drove their bodies around streets .
Rebels guard state buildings and return bread prices to pre-war levels .
Pictures emerged as Assad vows to 'cleanse' country of extremists .
President was responding to suicide bombing in capital Damascus .
By . Alex Gore . PUBLISHED: . 12:16 EST, 22 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:28 EST, 22 March 2013 . Powerful images of a city ruined by Syria's civil war have emerged today after rebels took control of the area from government forces. The provincial capital of Raqqa is the first major city to fall entirely under rebel control, having been seized from the government last week. The pictures come as President . Assad vowed to 'cleanse' the country of Muslim extremists, whom he blames . for a suicide blast that killed at least 49 people. Defiance: Civilians in Raqqa hold up messages of freedom among the ruined buildings of the city . Reduced to rubble: The provincial capital is the first major city to fall entirely under rebel control . Trail of destruction: The photographs paint a shocking picture of a broken city destroyed by civil war . Victory: Raqqa is shaping up to be the best test case yet for how opposition fighters will administer territory . Opposition fighters and civilians posed . among the rubble of the northern city and clutched flags and signs . featuring messages of defiance against President Bashar Assad's regime. Militants captured security forces in public squares and have driven their bodies through the streets. They have posted guards at state buildings, returned soaring bread prices to pre-war levels and set up a hotline for residents to phone to report security issues, anti-regime activists said. Raqqa is shaping up to be the best test case yet for how opposition fighters will administer territory amid western concerns over who will fill the vacuum if President Assad is ousted. Death toll: The conflict has lasted two-years, with an estimated 70,000 people killed and countless wounded . In control: Rebels have posted guards at state buildings and returned soaring bread prices to pre-war levels . Brothers in arms: Proud rebel fighters make victory salutes in the shadow of ruined buildings . Bloody battle: Opposition fighters display what they claim is the body of a member of Assad's forces . But while the city's new rulers try to govern, they are struggling with the same divisions that have hampered the rebel movement's effectiveness throughout the fighting. Caught in the fighting: A mother and her children remained in the city despite the conflict . The conflict has lasted two-years, with an estimated 70,000 people killed and countless wounded. A a top Sunni preacher, who was a staunch supporter of the regime, was among those killed in the bombing in Damascus last night. The bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in the heart of the capital, killing Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti as he was giving a sermon, and wounding more than 80 others. In a statement carried by Syria's state SUNA news agency, Preisdent Assad said al-Buti represented true Islam. He said: 'Your blood and your grandson's, as well as that of all the nation's martyrs will not go in vain because we will continue to follow your thinking to wipe out their darkness and clear our country of them.' Earlier this week, Syria's main opposition group demanded a full international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in the north of the country. The Syrian National Coalition has blamed government forces and called for a team to be sent to the village of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province, where the missile attack reportedly occurred. Split: Raqqa's new rulers are struggling with the same divisions that have hampered the rebel movement . Finger pointing: The rebels and regime have traded accusations about a chemical attack in Khan al-Assal . Denied: A U.S. official said there is no evidence of chemical weapons, which are internationally prohibited . Conflict: If confirmed, it would be the first time a chemical weapon was used in Syria's two-year-long crisis . The rebels and regime traded accusations about the purported chemical attack, which if confirmed would be the first in the two-year-long crisis. The Coalition called for those responsible to be tried, and added: 'Chemical warfare is internationally prohibited. 'Its use against any . enemy is banned, however all evidence now indicates that the Assad . regime is using these weapons against its own people.' A U.S. official said there is no evidence that chemical weapons were used but a senior Israeli minister said it is 'apparently clear' that such weapons have been used, either by rebels of the regime. Revenge: President Assad, left, vowed to 'cleanse' Syria of extremists after the death of Sheikh al-Buti, right . Patrol: Rebels keep watch in the streets of the northern city after seizing it from government troops . Uprising: Opposition troops manage a smile despite the destruction around them in the provincial capital . Loyalist: A top Sunni preacher, a staunch supporter of the regime, was killed in the Damascus bombing . If confirmed, the attack would be the first time a chemical weapon was . used in Syria's two-year-long crisis. But a U.S. official has said there . was no evidence a chemical attack had happened. President Assad, meanwhile, has made a rare public appearance, visiting a fine arts school in the capital. Costly blow: Rebels were reported to have shot down a regime warplane in Raqqa province . He met the parents of . students who were killed in the civil war, state TV reported. It was his first public appearance outside his palace since January. Activists have reported violence around the country including clashes in Khan al-Assal, where the chemical attack reportedly occurred, suburbs of the capital and near the Damascus Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk. The Aleppo Media Center, an opposition media arm, said rebels shot down a regime warplane in the northern province of Raqqa, whose provincial capital fell in the hands of rebels earlier this month. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops were trying to storm the rebel-held neighborhood of Khaldiyeh in the central city of Homs, Syria's third-largest. Rebels have been holding the neighborhood for more than a year. In Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said five rockets fell on the Lebanese side of the border in the town of al-Qasr. It said there were no casualties. The rockets fell two days after the NNA said Syrian warplanes hit targets along Syria's border with Lebanon. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman strongly condemned the air raid while the Foreign Ministry in Damascus denied Syrian aircraft bombarded Lebanon. Hungry mouths: Rebel fighters stop for food in the area surrounding the captured city of Raqqa . Showing his face: President Assad has made his first public appearance outside his palace since January . Tough talk: President Assad has vowed to 'cleanse' the country of Muslim extremists .
civilians posed . among the rubble of the featuring messages of defiance against President Bashar Assad's regime. Militants captured security forces in public squares and have driven their bodies through the streets. They have posted guards at state buildings and returned soaring bread prices to pre-war levels . Brothers regime, was killed in the Damascus bombing . If Raqqa, whose provincial capital fell in the hands to 'cleanse' the country of Muslim extremists .