Rebel rocket attack on Syria's Assad hometown kills 2

At least two people were killed and five others wounded on Monday by a rebel rocket attack against Qardaha, the ancestral hometown of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a monitor group and pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

Explosions were heard rocking Qardaha, in what appeared to be four rockets slamming into the town in the countryside of Latakia, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitor group said the death toll could rise due to the number of critically wounded people.

Meanwhile, al-Mayadeen TV placed the death toll at only one person.

The rare attack against this hometown of al-Assad comes as the Syrian army backed by the Russian air cover is making strides against the Turkey-backed rebels in the northern countryside of Latakia, near the Turkish borders.

The Observatory said areas in the mountains of al-Akrad and Turkmen in northern Latakia were subject to heavy shelling by the Syrian army on Monday.

The Syrian army has been making notable gains against the rebels in Latakia, which is expected to be rebels-free soon as a result of the crushing offensive the Syrian troops has mounted.

An officer told Xinhua recently that the Syrian army has captured over 85 percent of the northern countryside of Latakia, including those most important strongholds.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said the rest towns in Latakia are exposed to army fire and will soon be recaptured.

The aim of the battles in Latakia is to start closing the border with Turkey, from where most of foreign jihadists are infiltrating into Syria. Endit