Syrian army captures 70 towns, villages in northern Syria

The Syrian government forces have captured as many as 70 towns and villages in key rebel-strongholds in northern Syria over the past 75 days, a monitor group reported on Wednesday.

Intense battles have been raging since the Syrian army launched an offensive in the northern countryside of the central province of Hama and the adjacent southern countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib against the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee (LLC) and other allied terrorists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the government forces are heavily shelling the terrorists' positions in the southern countryside of Idlib amid bad weather conditions in that part of the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

Syrian warplanes are also pounding the areas near the city of Khan Sheikhoun and the town of Tamana' in Idlib countryside, said the observatory.

The London-based watchdog group added that the Syrian warplanes struck a museum in the city of Marat al-Numan in southern Idlib a day earlier, leaving big destruction in the building.

--IANS

sku/