Qaeda-led rebels take Idlib’s last Syria regime bastion

The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. A coalition of rebel groups called Jaish al Fateh, or Conquest Army, said it had taken over the city. Syria’s al Qaeda offshoot Nusra Front is a major part of the coalition. The coalition said it had overrun several checkpoints that defended the city. The Syrian army said intense fighting was going on with Nusra forces that had infiltrated Ariha.

There are heavy clashes between the army and the terrorists of Jabahat al Nusra who infiltrated inside the city.

Army statement released

The Nusra Front has made gains in northwestern Syria alongside other insurgent groups in recent weeks, seizing the city of Idlib, the town of Jisr al-Shughour and bringing them closer to government-held coastal areas north of the capital. The loss of Ariha would leave the insurgents in control of most of Idlib a region that borders Turkey and neighbors President Assad’s heartland in Latakia province on the Mediterranean coast. The city, once home to more than 80,000 people, is strategically located on the main army supply lines between Idlib and Latakia.

Middle East Nusra Front