( CNN ) -- Syrian warplanes pounded rebel fighters and car bombs went off in the Damascus suburbs Wednesday as the architect of a failed cease-fire huddled with Chinese officials in Beijing . At least 121 people died in the 19-month-old conflict on Wednesday , opposition activists reported . Russian-built MiG jets and artillery targeted neighborhoods in and around Damascus , the commercial capital of Aleppo and the southern city of Daraa , according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria , a network of opposition activists . Rebel groups accuse Syria 's longtime ally , Iran , of supplying surveillance drones to help direct the airstrikes , displaying what they say are captured aircraft and operating manuals . Iran says it 's not providing military aid to Syria . A rebel group , meanwhile , claimed responsibility for a bombing that Syria 's state news agency SANA said killed 11 people in the Damascus suburb of Saida Zaynab . The group said the blast killed eight Syrian troops and no civilians , but another rebel faction said three children were among the dead . Brahimi in Beijing . Lakhdar Brahimi , the U.N- Arab League special envoy tasked with finding an end to the long-running conflict , was in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese officials . China has offered a four-point plan to end the war , calling for a cease-fire , plans for political settlement and transition and international humanitarian aid . Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said China wants to work with world powers to reach a `` fair , peaceful and appropriate '' resolution , the state news agency Xinhua reported . But he said Syria 's future should be determined by its citizens , and its sovereignty , independence , unity and territorial integrity should be respected . `` A political resolution is the only pragmatic option in Syria , '' Yang said . Brahimi worked for a cease-fire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha , which ended Monday , but the truce never took hold . On Wednesday , he said a political resolution to the conflict is the only realistic approach to the `` complicated and sensitive situation in Syria , '' `` All parties involved should cease fire and violence so as to create conditions for a political resolution , '' Brahimi said . Both China and Russia , where Brahimi held talks Monday , have blocked tough U.N. Security Council initiatives against the Syrians . Rebels target 'nerve center ' in Aleppo . Rebel fighters in Aleppo , the scene of heavy fighting since August , focused their efforts Wednesday on a military headquarters compound they say houses political prisoners . `` The air force intelligence building is the nerve center for the regime operation in Aleppo , '' Abdulla Yasin , a spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army , told CNN . Syrian troops surround the building and have moved the prisoners held there to upper-story offices , `` to prevent the FSA from firing rockets or artillery rounds into the building , '' Yasin said . `` We must be very careful to prevent harm to the innocent civilians and political prisoners trapped inside , because it appears they are being used as some type of human shields , '' he said . Fighting extended into the countryside around the city , with artillery fire and airstrikes targeting the town of Atarib . At least 10 people were killed and 20 wounded there , Yasin said , while three more died in the nearby town of Kafr Hamr . CNN can not independently confirm accounts of fighting or death tolls from Syria as the government has severely restricted the access of international journalists . The numbers reported by the LCC do not include deaths from security forces or the military . More than 35,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict , according to the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria , a group that tracks fatalities . Supporters of Bashar al-Assad welcome onslaught of Sandy . CNN 's Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report .
NEW : At least 121 dead across Syria , opposition says . Rebels target military headquarters in Aleppo . Score: 7 Deaths mount across Syria on Wednesday , opposition says .