Members of the Free Syrian Army react as they fire a homemade rocket toward regime forces in Deir al-Zor on Sunday, June 16. Tensions in Syria flared in March 2011 during the onset of the Arab Spring, escalating into an ongoing civil war. View the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.
Istanbul (CNN) -- Thousands of mostly Syrian prisoners were exchanged Wednesday for a few dozen Iranians in Damascus, a Turkish charity said.
The Syrian government released 2,130 civilians, 76 of them women, in exchange for the release of 48 Iranians who had been held by Syrian rebels, said Huseyin Oruc, deputy president of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation in Turkey.
Iran has backed the Syria government during the nearly two-year war that has pitted rebels against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
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Iran's semi-official news agency FARS reported Wednesday that the released Iranians were pilgrims who had been "abducted by terrorists in Syria in August."
Al-Assad and Iran routinely refer to Syrian rebels as foreign-backed militants or terrorists.
The exchange took place after a speech delivered Sunday by al-Assad in which he vowed to continue to push back against the rebels.
"It's a huge victory for us," said Louai al Miqdad, a political and media coordinator for the Free Syrian Army. It's a huge victory for the revolution. And it's a huge victory for the Syrian people."
He added, "It shows the whole world that Bashar al-Assad only understands the language of force. Today, we released them by our hand."
Oruc told CNN in a telephone interview that four Turkish nationals and one Palestinian were also released by the Syrian government as part of the deal.
The foundation's teams in Damascus handled the exchange, which took place at various police stations, he said.
By late Wednesday, the freed Iranians were in Damascus and the freed Syrians had returned to their homes, he said.
Read more: What's next for Syria in 2013?
According to the charity, the swap is the result of three months of negotiations.
Among the freed Syrians and Turks were four "bride activists," women who were wearing their wedding dresses when they were arrested protesting violence in their country, Miqdad said.
Some of the Syrian and Turkish prisoners had been held in the capital's main prison, and others in a prison run by the intelligence branch, Miqdad said.
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He said the released Iranians were members of a group abducted last August by rebels in Damascus.
The Iranian government denied rebel claims that the freed Iranians were members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Tehran says they are Shiite pilgrims who were in Syria visiting a holy site in Damascus when they were abducted by "foreign-backed militants."
Opposition leaders accused al-Assad of valuing the freedom of a few dozen Iranians above the release of thousands of Syrian loyalist soldiers believed to be in rebel custody.
"One Iranian person means more to him than a thousand soldiers," Miqdad said. "The command came direct from Tehran."
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"The big prize for the regime is the Iranians, keeping them happy," said George Sabra, vice president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. "The regime never cared about the lives of the civilian population or even his own armed forces."
Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported that "Iran hoped that permanent, comprehensive security and stability return to Syria" and said the Iranian Foreign Ministry had characterized the exchange as a release of Iranians who had been abducted in Syria.
It urged respecting principles declared in international agreements that ban the attacking of innocents and consider the abductions as contradictory to the principles of human rights.
Read more: Local diplomacy wins in tense Syria prisoner exchange
Meanwhile, as the Syrian war ground on, the United Nations said Wednesday that Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, would meet Friday with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.
The meeting, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, would be "aimed at furthering their discussions to arrive at a political solution to the crisis in Syria," a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
But on the ground, blood kept flowing.
A car bomb rocked the Damascus suburb of Modamieyah on Wednesday, with reports of deaths and injuries, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group.
Fighting also continued in the Taftanaz area of northern Syria, where rebels were engaged in a battle for a key Syrian air base.
Al-Nusra Front, a militant group that the United States has designated as a terrorist movement, is among three rebel factions attacking the base in Idlib province, rebels have said.
Elsewhere, wintry weather appeared to put a brake on some military operations.
Read more: Scavenging for food, Syrian children witness war
CNN's Saad Abedine, Salma Abdelaziz and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.
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Syrian rebels leave their position in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan on Thursday, June 13. The White House said that 
Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are seen near Qusayr on Thursday, May 30.
Syrian rebels take position in a house during clashes with regime forces in the old city of Aleppo on May 22.
Syrian army soldiers take control of the village of Western Dumayna north of the rebel-held city of Qusayr on Monday, May 13. Syrian troops captured three villages in Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP.
Rebel fighters fire at government forces in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, May 12.
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A Kurdish fighter from the "Popular Protection Units" (YPG) takes position inside a building in the majority-Kurdish Sheikh Maqsood area of Aleppo, on Apri. 21.
People walk past destroyed houses in the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Sunday, April 21.
Free Syrian Army fighters take positions prior to an offensive against government forces in the Khan al-Assal area, near Aleppo on Saturday, April 20.
Men inspect damage at a house destroyed in an airstrike in Aleppo on April 15.
Syrian and Kurdish rebel fighters walk in the Sheikh Maqsud district of Aleppo on April 14.
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A rebel runs to avoid sniper fire from Syrian government forces in Aleppo on Thursday, April 11.
Syrian rebels observe the movement of Syrian government forces around Al-Kendi hospital in Aleppo on Wednesday, April 10.
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A Syrian rebel runs for cover in Deir ez-Zor on April 2.
A rebel checks for snipers across the street toward the Citadel in Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.
A Free Syrian fighter mourns the death of a friend in Aleppo on March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.
A Syrian opposition fighter runs for cover from Syrian army snipers in Aleppo on Wednesday, March 27.
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A Syrian man and his family drive past damaged buildings in Maarat al-Numan, on Wednesday, March 20.
Syrians carry the body of a Syrian army soldier during a funeral ceremony in Idlib province on Tuesday, March 19.
Syrian rebels take position in Aleppo, the largest city in the country, on March 11.
Syrian men search for their relatives amongst the bodies of civilians executed and dumped in the Quweiq River on March 11.
A Free Syrian Army fighter looks back as smoke rises during fighting between rebel fighters and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on the outskirts of Aleppo on Saturday, March 2.
Residents read Shaam News newspapers published by the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo on March 2.
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A Syrian woman looks through a bus window in Aleppo on February 14.
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A rebel fighter throws a hand grenade inside a Syrian Army base in Damascus on February 3.
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Free Syrian Army fighters run as they enter a Syrian Army base during heavy fighting in the Arabeen neighborhood of Damascus on February 3.
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Fighters from Fateh al Sham unit of the Free Syrian Army fire on Syrian Army soldiers at a check point in Damascus on January 20.
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Syrians mourn a fallen rebel fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on December 8.
Members of Liwa (Brigade) Salahadin, a Kurdish military unit fighting alongside rebel fighters, monitor the area in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.
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Two young boys sit underneath a washline in a refugee camp on the border between Syria and Turkey near Azaz on December 5.
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A Syrian rebel mourns the death of a comrade in Maraat al-Numan on November 20.
Syrians protesters stand on Assad's portrait during an anti-regime demonstration in Aleppo on November 16.
A Syrian rebel takes cover during fighting against Syrian government forces in Aleppo on November 15.
Syrian opposition fighter Bazel Araj, 19, sleeps next to his pistol in Aleppo on November 11.
A rebel fighter fires at a Syrian government position in Aleppo on November 6.
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Rebels hold their position in the midst of a battle on November 3 in Aleppo.
A man cries while being treated in a local hospital in a rebel-controlled area of Aleppo on October 31.
A man is treated for wounds after a government jet attacked the Karm al-Aser neighborhood in eastern Aleppo on October 31.
A Syrian rebel interrogates a handcuffed and blindfolded man suspected of being a pro-regime militiaman in Aleppo on October 26.
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A Syrian rebel fires at an army position in the Karm al-Jabal district of Aleppo on October 22.
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Syrian army soldiers run for cover during clashes with rebel fighters at Karam al-Jabal neighborhood of Aleppo on October 20.
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A Syrian opposition fighter stands near a post in Aleppo on October 11.
A Syrian man mourns the death of his father, who was killed during a government attack in Aleppo on October 10.
A rebel fighter is carried by his friends and laid on a gurney to be treated for gunshot wounds sustained during heavy battles with government forces in Aleppo on October 1.
Syrian rebels help a wounded comrade to an Aleppo hospital after he was injured in a Syrian army strike on September 18.
Free Syria Army fighters are reflected in a mirror they use to see a Syrian Army post only 50 meters away in Aleppo on September 16.
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A woman walks past a destroyed building in Aleppo on September 13.
Free Syrian Army fighters battle during street fighting against Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo on September 8.
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A man mourns in front of a field hospital on August 21 in Aleppo.
Wounded civilians wait in a field hospital after an air strike on August 21 in Aleppo.
People pray during the funeral of a Free Syrian Army fighter, Amar Ali Amero, on August 21.
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A Syrian rebel runs in a street of Selehattin during an attack on the municipal building on July 23.
Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin on July 23.
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Syrian rebels take position near Qusayr on May 10.
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Rebels prepare to engage government tanks that advanced into Saraquib on April 9.
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A young boy plays with a toy gun in Binnish on April 9.
A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his horse in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, a year after the uprising began.
Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14.
A rebel takes position in Al-Qsair on January 27.
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Members of the Free Syrian Army stand in an valley near the village of Ain al-Baida, close to the Turkish border, on December 15, 2011.
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A Syrian man holds up a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad during a rally to show support for the president in Damascus on April 30, 2011.
Syrians rally to show their support for President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on April 30, 2011.
A screen grab from YouTube shows thick smoke rising above as Syrian anti-government protesters demonstrate in Moaret Al-Noman on April 29, 2011.
A screen grab from YouTube shows Syrian anti-government protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by security forces in Damascus on April 29, 2011, during the "Day of Rage" demonstrations called by activists to put pressure on al-Assad.
Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of al-Assad during a rally to show their support for their leader in Damascus on March 29, 2011.
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Syrian protesters chant slogans in support of al-Assad during a rally in Damascus on March 25, 2011.
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