A coalition of Islamist opposition militants have, which includes the Al Nusra Front, has captured a key Syrian town in the north of the country.
The opposition alliance, which also includes the Ahrar al-Sham movement and Jund al-Aqsa, united last month in an effort to overwhelm Syrian government forces and take the town of Jisr al-Shughour. The coalition, which does not include the Islamic State (IS), captured the town of Idlib last month.
On Saturday Syrian government forces said the army had been redeployed from the town "to avoid civilian casualties”, stating that it was battling "a large number of terrorists coming from the Turkish border".
A representative from the media office of Ahrar al-Sham told Reuters "all of Jisr al-Shughour is now liberated, there is no more regime there."
"Jisr al-Shughour is more important than Idlib itself, it is very close to the coastal area which is a regime area,” he continued. “The coast now is within our fire reach."
The opposition alliance, which also includes the Ahrar al-Sham movement and Jund al-Aqsa, united last month in an effort to overwhelm Syrian government forces and take the town of Jisr al-Shughour. The coalition, which does not include the Islamic State (IS), captured the town of Idlib last month.
On Saturday Syrian government forces said the army had been redeployed from the town "to avoid civilian casualties”, stating that it was battling "a large number of terrorists coming from the Turkish border".
A representative from the media office of Ahrar al-Sham told Reuters "all of Jisr al-Shughour is now liberated, there is no more regime there."
"Jisr al-Shughour is more important than Idlib itself, it is very close to the coastal area which is a regime area,” he continued. “The coast now is within our fire reach."