Rebels reach gates of besieged Syrian airbase, killing 16 soldiers

Several jihadi groups unleashed a wide-scale offensive against a besieged Syrian airbase in the country's northwest, reaching the base's main gate and killing 16 soldiers, a monitor group reported Friday.

The jihadi militants, mainly from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, mounted a broad offensive in droves overnight against the Abu al-Duhur airfield, which they have been besieging for over two years in the northwestern province of Idlib, much of which fell to the Nusra and its affiliates last April, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A group of the militants' special forces known as "Enghimasiyoun," Arabic for "those who immerse themselves," led the attack on motorcycles, managing to storm the airbase's main gate, the UK-based watchdog group added.

Meanwhile, the Syrian warplanes carried out several airstrikes against clash sites at the airbase, said the Observatory, adding that 28 militants were killed.

The Abu al-Duhur airbase is located in a town under the same name, one of the very few remaining government strongholds in Idlib.

The rebels have besieged the airfield for over two years and supplies for the troops have been airdropped by helicopters even since.

During the long-lasting siege, the rebels upped their attacks on the airport. They claimed that as a result of their employment of anti-aircraft weaponry, they have rendered flights from the base inoperable.

The Syrian military forces have lost large numbers of airbases across the country to jihadi groups which could not use the facilities as the air force has emptied them of warplanes and equipment. Endit