AFP, Beirut :
Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate on Monday seized the key army base of Wadi al-Deif in the country’s northwestern province of Idlib from government forces, a monitoring group said.
“The Al-Nusra Front, backed by (Islamist group) Jund al-Aqsa, seized control of the Wadi al-Deif military base… after a fierce offensive that began yesterday morning,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The jihadists’ lightning victory in Wadi al-Deif leaves most of Idlib province, which borders Turkey, under Al-Nusra Front’s control.
It is a show of force by the Al-Qaeda branch, which in November drove mainstream rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster from Idlib province.
Mainstream opposition fighters had Wadi al-Deif under siege for around two years, but failed despite repeated attempts to take it over from government troops.
“The jihadists’ advance has major symbolic importance, and it also shows the rebels that Al-Nusra Front really is in control of the area,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
During its offensive on Wadi al-Deif, “the Al-Nusra Front used tanks and other heavy weapons that it captured last month from the (Western-backed) Syrian Revolutionary Front”, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Al-Nusra’s defeat of the SRF was seen as a blow to US efforts to create and train a moderate rebel force as a counterweight to jihadists.
Idlib province was among the first areas to fall from government control, soon after the 2011 outbreak of a revolt against Assad’s rule.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian branch of al Qaeda, the Nusra Front, said on Monday it had taken control of a base next to the country’s main north-south highway.
Until now, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had managed to repel numerous attacks on Wadi al-Deif, which has been surrounded by insurgents for two years.
“Wadi al-Deif base is completely liberated after Assad’s forces withdrew from all checkpoints hit by the Mujahideen fighters,” a Nusra Front Twitter account said.
The highway that runs past the base links Aleppo with Damascus.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Nusra Front was supported by another Sunni Muslim militant group, Jund al-Aqsa.
“All of Wadi al-Deif has been taken. Other areas near the base have also been captured. At least 31 government forces were killed and 12 fighters from Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa,” said Observatory head Rami Abdulrahman, who tracks the conflict through a network of sources on both sides.
Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate on Monday seized the key army base of Wadi al-Deif in the country’s northwestern province of Idlib from government forces, a monitoring group said.
“The Al-Nusra Front, backed by (Islamist group) Jund al-Aqsa, seized control of the Wadi al-Deif military base… after a fierce offensive that began yesterday morning,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The jihadists’ lightning victory in Wadi al-Deif leaves most of Idlib province, which borders Turkey, under Al-Nusra Front’s control.
It is a show of force by the Al-Qaeda branch, which in November drove mainstream rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster from Idlib province.
Mainstream opposition fighters had Wadi al-Deif under siege for around two years, but failed despite repeated attempts to take it over from government troops.
“The jihadists’ advance has major symbolic importance, and it also shows the rebels that Al-Nusra Front really is in control of the area,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
During its offensive on Wadi al-Deif, “the Al-Nusra Front used tanks and other heavy weapons that it captured last month from the (Western-backed) Syrian Revolutionary Front”, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Al-Nusra’s defeat of the SRF was seen as a blow to US efforts to create and train a moderate rebel force as a counterweight to jihadists.
Idlib province was among the first areas to fall from government control, soon after the 2011 outbreak of a revolt against Assad’s rule.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian branch of al Qaeda, the Nusra Front, said on Monday it had taken control of a base next to the country’s main north-south highway.
Until now, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had managed to repel numerous attacks on Wadi al-Deif, which has been surrounded by insurgents for two years.
“Wadi al-Deif base is completely liberated after Assad’s forces withdrew from all checkpoints hit by the Mujahideen fighters,” a Nusra Front Twitter account said.
The highway that runs past the base links Aleppo with Damascus.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Nusra Front was supported by another Sunni Muslim militant group, Jund al-Aqsa.
“All of Wadi al-Deif has been taken. Other areas near the base have also been captured. At least 31 government forces were killed and 12 fighters from Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa,” said Observatory head Rami Abdulrahman, who tracks the conflict through a network of sources on both sides.
