1st LD: Syrian army captures last rebel stronghold in Latakia province

The Syrian army captured on Thursday the town of Kinsaba, the last rebel bastion in the northern countryside of the northwestern province of Latakia, near Turkey, state TV reported.

Capturing Kinsaba, which was under the control of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the rebels' Free Syrian Army, ushers in the end of the militant presence in the northern countryside of Latakia.

The achievement comes as part of a wide-scale offensive by the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian air cover, in a battle believed to aim at closing the borders with Turkey.

After Kinsaba, the Syrian army and allied troops have become only 10 km from the strategic town of Jisr al-Shughour, in the countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib, which fell largely to the Jaish al-Fateh group, a coalition of jihadist groups, mainly the Nusra Front.

A military source in Latakia said the Syrian army's campaign in Idlib will soon start after the capture of Kinsaba.

Government troops are also reportedly fighting in the northern province of Aleppo to cut the countryside of that key province from the city of Aleppo and deprive the rebels from their supply lines from Turkey.

Observers say the sweeping military campaign near Turkey has raised the ire of Ankara and Saudi Arabia, prompting them to threaten sending ground troops into Syria. Endit