Report: 14 Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria's Aleppo

A total of 14 fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah group have been killed over the past two days in clashes with jihadi groups in northern Syria, a monitor group reported on Monday.

The Hezbollah fighters were killed while battling alongside Syrian government forces in the southern countryside of Syria's northern province of Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog group said the Syrian army and Hezbollah took control of several towns south of Aleppo, following intense battles against the jihadi groups.

Hezbollah presence in Syria has helped the Syrian army, whose troops have become stretched thin in battles across the war-torn country.

In another development, the Observatory said 22 militants were killed in battles with Syrian forces in the central province of Hama, where government troops foiled a major rebel offensive in towns in the northern countryside of that province. Endit