Al Qaeda, allies overrun Syria govt holdout in northwest

“Thousands of rebel fighters are in the city. Clashes are continuing in some neighbourhoods where soldiers are attempting to break out,” said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

By (AFP)

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Published: Sat 25 Apr 2015, 2:10 PM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 9:54 PM

Beirut— Fighters of Syria’s Al Qaeda affiliate and its allies overran the last major government-held city in the northwestern province of Idlib on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

The rebels launched their attack on Jisr Al Shughur on Thursday, seeking to capitalise on their capture of the provincial capital last month and open up a strategic assault route to the regime’s hold on the Mediterranean coast.

“Thousands of rebel fighters are in the city. Clashes are continuing in some neighbourhoods where soldiers are attempting to break out,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.  

The militants hailed their victory on their official Twitter account.

Abdel Rahman said that the rebels’ latest victory was even more important as it cut a key road between the government stronghold of Latakia on the coast and the central province of Hama. 


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