1st LD: Syrian army fully captures key air base in Idlib province
Xinhua,January 20, 2018 Adjust font size:
DAMASCUS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army fully captured the strategic Abu al-Duhur air base in the northwestern province of Idlib Saturday, a military source told Xinhua.
The capture of Abu al-Duhur was achieved after intense battles with the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee (LLC), otherwise known as the Nusra Front, said the source on condition of anonymity.
The military forces began storming the air base earlier in the day from its southern rim while other military units were fighting to secure areas in the eastern and southwestern outskirts of the air base, the source said.
He added that intense battles were raging between the Syrian forces and the LLC in the surrounding of the base in the southern countryside of Idlib.
Earlier this month, the army was fighting at the outskirts of the air base and was close to capturing it, but a major counter-offensive by the militants hindered the advance.
The Syrian army was aiming to capture Abu al-Duhur due to the strategic importance of that facility and its crucial role in launching further offensives against the LLC and likeminded groups in Idlib. Enditem