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Syrian rebels seize town in west in blow to government

05 November 2015 21:09 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Insurgents captured a town on a major highway in western Syria on Thursday, in a blow to the Russian-backed campaign against them, rebels and a monitoring group said.

Moscow's intervention in the war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, ostensibly to fight Islamic State, has mostly hit other insurgents including more moderate groups, according to the U.S. State Department.

Syrian army offensives backed by allied militia, Russian air strikes, Iranian troops and Hezbollah fighters to retake territory from those groups in the west and northwest have had limited success at best.

Rebels say better organization and new tactics have helped them fight back, as supporters including Saudi Arabia and Qatar send new weapons supplies.

The capture of Morek was another blow to Damascus and Moscow. The town is north of Hama city on a major north-south highway crucial to control of western Syria.

A rebel commander on the ground said Morek had been "liberated", describing it as strategically important.

"It was a center for the gathering of regime forces and a point of departure for its operations," said Fares al-Bayoush of rebel group Fursan al-Haq, which is fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner.

Another FSA commander confirmed the takeover, saying rebels would work to press north.

"The next step for us is now to liberate the highway between Morek and Suran. This is where the Syrian army and its militias had retreated and where fighting has now moved," the al-Izza group's Jamil Saleh said.

Russian air strikes had intensified against rebels following Morek's capture, he said.

But he said the "Russians and their planes have been a bad omen to Bashar and the militias who are with him."