Islamists seize control of Syrian city in northwest
Source: New York Times
BEIRUT — Insurgents seized more parts of the northern Syrian province of Idlib on Saturday in a significant advance toward the government-held coast that seemed to signal new coordination among anti-government fighters, some using advanced anti-tank weapons.
The advances showed that government forces have so far been unable to retake the city of Idlib, the provincial capital. It was seized last month by Islamist insurgent groups that included al-Qaida’s Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, but not the rival Islamic State group.
President Bashar al-Assad has hung on during a four-year insurgency, but his forces have been unable to retake control of large parts of Syria, and in recent weeks insurgents opposed both to his rule and to the Islamic State have made advances in the north and south.
On Saturday, insurgents including the Nusra Front, the hard-line Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham and the relatively nationalist groups calling themselves the Free Syrian Army took part in a battle that left Jisr al-Shughour, the province’s second-largest city, in insurgent hands.
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