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Al-Qaida rebels down Syrian helicopter over Idlib province

Xinhua, February 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Syrian helicopter was reportedly downed by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front over a military base in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Monday, a monitoring group reported.

The Nusra Front and like-minded group clashed with the government troops on Monday in the vicinity of the contested Syrian airbase of Abu al-Duhur in the countryside of Idlib, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said the preliminary information indicated that a Syrian helicopter was downed over the airbase.

The report couldn't be independently verified with the absence of official comments.

The al-Qaida linked groups in Idlib have recently intensified their attacks against the government forces, in the hope of consolidating their positions in that province near the borders with Turkey.

However, the Syrian army thwarted repetitive attacks by the rebels there amid ongoing conflict. Endit