The Nusra and other extremist groups seized 35 tanks, 20 armored vehicles loaded with munitions as well as 1,500 tank shells from the Wadi al-Daif and Hamidiyeh military bases, which had been stormed by the radical groups few days ago in the countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib, said the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The seized weapons are enough for the Nusra and its affiliates to open a front, whose battles could last for months, said the Observatory, a UK-based watchdog group that relies on a network of activists on ground.
The Syrian war jets also carried out five airstrikes against the towns of Abu al-Duhur, Rasm Zu, Rafieyeh and the vicinity of Abu al-Duhur military airbase without news on losses among the rebel groups, according to the Observatory.
The Syrian war jets also targeted the rebel-captured al-Hamidyeh base with two strikes, leaving one man killed and others wounded.
The al-Qaida-linked groups have been fighting to establish a foot-hold in Idlib to cover for its losses in the northern province of Aleppo and other areas in southern Syria, military experts say.
Separately, the Observatory said the Syrian troops carried out 2,973 airstrikes on different parts of Syria over the past two months, during which 735 civilians were allegedly killed. The Observatory stopped short of giving additional details about the number of the killed rebels.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
19/12/14
--
-
Related:
---
Syrian PM in Iran for talks with key ally
The U.S. Congress authorized a massive U.S. annual defense policy bill on Friday which includes $5 billion in emergency funding for military operations and training for Iraqi and Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as President Barack Obama requested...
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Activists: Qaeda seizes scores of Syrian army tanks ...
ReplyDeleteFighters from the Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, seized dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers from the army when they took two regime bases this week, AFP quoted activists as saying on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Nusra Front fighters captured the Wadi al-Deif and Hamidiyeh military posts in the northwestern province of Idlib on Monday............http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/12/19/Nusra-Front-seizes-Syrian-army-tanks-activists.html
19/12/14