261 Syrian soldiers killed by al-Qaida affiliated groups in Jisr al-Shughour battles

As many as 261 Syrian soldiers have been killed since the al-Qaida-linked militants unleashed their wide-scale offensive on the northwestern city of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province a month ago, a monitor group reported Sunday.

Ninety of the those killed during the attacks of the Nusra Front and likeminded groups were officers, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the death toll include all those killed between April 22 and May 23, the day when tens of government forces managed to escape the National Hospital of Jisr al-Shughour, the last military position in that key city near the Turkish borders.

After the Syrian soldiers made their escape on May 22, the Nusra militants stormed the National Hospital, completing their control over the entire city of Jisr al-Shughour in the countryside of Idlib province, much of which fell to the Nusra and likeminded groups over the past two months. Endit