Syrian troops kill 27 rebels

The Syrian troops Monday killed 27 rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib, as part of a series of "precise" operations by the army against rebel positions in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, media reported.

Arab fighters, including Qatari, Saudi, and Tunisians, were among those killed in the town of Binnish in Idlib, Xinhua quoted the state-run SANA news agency as saying in a report. It added that Chechens were also among the killed rebels.

The Syrian government has for long accused regional countries of facilitating the flow of foreign fighters into Syria to fight alongside jihadist groups against the regular forces of Syria.

Meanwhile, the activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog, said that airstrikes against rebel-held area in Aleppo killed 10 people.

The Syrian troops have been fighting rebels for almost three years. The international community is preparing for the holding of the Geneva II peace conference designed to seek a political solution to Syria's protracted crisis.