(CNN) -- A fledgling force of Syrian military deserters said it struck an important government security complex on the outskirts of the capital overnight, a bold strike reflecting the resolve and confidence of the regime's opposition.





The assault came ahead of an Arab League meeting Wednesday to reaffirm a decision to suspend Syria's membership, a move the group made over the weekend after President Bashar al-Assad's government failed to abide by a proposal to end a brutal crackdown on protesters.





Also Wednesday, France recalled its ambassador to Syria, the French Foreign Ministry said. The move followed attacks on French missions in Syria.





The defector group, called the Free Syrian Army, said it attacked an air intelligence base in Harasta and planted "powerful explosions inside and around the compound that shook its foundations."





Andrew Tabler, an expert on Syria at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said air intelligence has been deeply involved in the eight-month-long crackdown by the Syrian government against protesters, a grinding civil conflict that the United Nations says has left more than 3,500 people dead.





Tabler said the strike reflects the growing sophistication of the Free Syrian Army, which has brigades across the country and has been in existence since the summer.





"It opens up a new era of the conflict," he said, adding that the development represents "a bad direction" for the country. "Until now, most of the protests have been peaceful."





The Free Syrian Army said it "carried out special operations in various areas in Damascus in order to spoil the plan that the regime is preparing against our people and our homeland."





The regime should "take note" that the deserter force "is capable of striking them in any place and at any time we want," the group said.





Activists said the deserter army used rocket-propelled grenades and the intelligence complex was damaged. Activists also reported damage at the complex in Harasta, an eastern suburb of the capital, Damascus.





Free Syrian Army Lt. Abdullah al Odah, speaking to CNN in Istanbul, Turkey, called the late-night operation brief.





He said 20 defectors armed with rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles participated and that it involved people from inside as well as outside the security branch. He didn't know whether security forces suffered casualties but he said no rebels were hurt.





He called air intelligence "one of the most terrifying secret service departments in Syria" and said such security entities will be targeted by defectors.





"This branch is responsible for many of the crimes against Syrian people and political prisoners," al Odah said. "We will announce the whole story to the world in the correct time."





It was one of five actions reported by the opposition force, which has recently emerged as an important factor in the opposition movement as more and more soldiers have left the Syrian army.





The opposition force also reported clashes with personnel loyal to al-Assad in several areas. They include Qaboun and Arbeen, Damascus neighborhoods, and Saqba, a suburb.





There was also fierce fighting in Douma, a city in the Syrian countryside.





"A clash between the Free Syrian Army and Assad's criminal gangs and his mobsters (the shabiha) in Douma, our Free Syrian military caused the Assad's gangs a lesson that they will never forget and heavy losses at the roundabout in the Douma municipality," the army said. The shabiha are pro-government militias.





Tabler said the Free Syrian Army consists of soldiers who've left their posts instead of obeying orders to fire on protesters. They've also had active operations in and around Homs, Idlib and other areas recently, he said.





Opposition groups like the Free Syrian Army have been calling on the international community to help protect protesters. They have urged the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone, as it did in the Libyan conflict, and a naval blockade. Army leaders have said such policies could allow them to establish a base of operations to launch a campaign to bring down al-Assad's regime.





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