Syria's Idlib city falls to al-Qaida-linked militants

The al-Qaida-linked militants on Saturday took control of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, following days of intense battles with the government forces, a monitoring group said.

The Nusra Front, along with Ahrar al-Sham and other likeminded groups, almost captured all of the city of Idlib after four days of intense battles there, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said the jihadist groups are now combing the city buildings where the Syrian forces were stationing, adding that with the fresh progress, Idlib is the second city to spiral out of the government control after the Islamic State (IS) group captured the city of al-Raqqa in northern Syria.

The UK-based watchdog group said a number of Syrian soldiers were either killed or captured by the radical groups in Idlib since Saturday morning, adding that seven al-Qaida-linked militants were also killed.

The Syrian warplanes have started striking the al-Qaida positions in Idlib and its countryside, the Observatory said.

The al-Qaida militants in Idlib also posted online photos, purporting to show their fighters standing inside the city.

Meanwhile, the state news agency SANA said the Syrian government forces are regrouping in the southern part of Idlib to prepare for a counter-offensive to face "thousands of terrorists streaming into the city from Turkey."

It said the army managed to thwart the advancement of the terrorists in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the city, fighting "intense battles to restore the situation to what it was."

The army also struck the positions of the militants which reached the National Museum of Idlib and the outskirts of the industrial city at the eastern gates of the city, killing "hundreds of them."

Battles in Idlib, bordering Turkey, have raged for five days when the Nusra and likeminded groups unleashed a broad offensive for the capture of the city and its outskirts.

The Syrian government forces unleashed a counter offensive over the past two days to thwart the advancement of Nusra, but the later received reinforcement from other militant groups, which streamed into Idlib from Turkey.

Friday evening, Syria's national TV said thousands of extremist militants were attacking Idlib and its outskirts, adding that the assailants were streaming from Turkey into Syria. The TV added that the Syria army is "valiantly" confronting the wide-scale offensive.

The jihadist groups in Idlib, mainly the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, are eying Idlib because of its strategic location near Turkey.

They also aimed to establish their own version of Islamic Caliphate, akin to what their rival extremist group, the Islamic State (IS) militants, did when it captured the entire city of al-Raqqa in northern Syria and declared it their de facto capital. Endit