Syria Reclaims Idlib Towns Held by Rebels for Years

Several days of pushing into Idlib Province, focused on the area along the main highway, has left the Syrian military in control of several towns that they’d lost very early in the Syrian War, and had been under various rebel groups’ control for years.

The towns themselves aren’t huge, but show that they are handing al-Qaeda a series of defeats in recent days, and gives them control of the highway to allow them to get more reinforcements into the area.

Turkey isn’t happy with reports of al-Qaeda taking such losses, and is complaining that the flight of civilians from the combat area is a “humanitarian crisis.” Turkey’s main concern, however, is that Turkish troops are in posts within Idlib Province, and some are now virtually surrounded by Syrian forces.

Al-Qaeda and Turkish-backed rebels are the last of the rebel-controlled parts of Syria, covering Idlib and some of Aleppo Provinces. Syria now seems to believe they can retake much of it.