Syrian army kills tens of militants in Idlib operation

The Syrian army carried out "qualitative" operations Wednesday in the rebel-held city in Idlib province, killing tens of militants, the Syrian official TV reported.

Many "terrorists" were killed in the vicinity of the National Hospital and the southern entrance of Jisr al-Shughour city in the Idlib province, as part of the government forces' bid to retake that strategic city, the report said.

On Saturday, the Nusra fighters and affiliated militants overran the Jisr al-Shughour in the countryside of Idlib, near the Turkish borders, leaving a group of the Syrian army surrounded in the National Hospital area.

The capture of this city comes less than a month since the same groups seized control of the provincial capital of Idlib.

On Tuesday, the opposition activists said another army group managed to infiltrate into the hospital area to aid their trapped soldiers, adding that the Nusra militants were trying to capture the soldiers alive as many of them were in the military group.

Local media said the militants were streaming in droves into the city from the Turkish territory, amid reports that the Syrian army has started a counter-offensive for the recapture of that key area.

The city has a strategic importance as it lies on the international road connecting Latakia with the northern city of Aleppo, which makes it a link and compulsory conduit between the coastal cities and the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, not to mention its proximity to the Turkish borders.

Experts said the city constitutes the gate of the coastal cities in Syria from the north and the demarcation line between the Syrian and Turkish borders.

They added that the fall of Jisr al-Shughour after Idlib city would give the militants a launching pad for opening new fronts in the countryside of Idlib and Latakia, which would threat the supply lines of the Syrian government forces between Aleppo and Latakia. Endit