MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the SOHR, Syrian government troops that had been defending the Abu al-Duhur airbase from rebel forces for almost two years, left the facility after a long fight with the al-Qaeda linked the Nusra Front and other Islamist factions.
On Tuesday, government forces repelled an attack against a military airbase southeast of the city of Idlib, planned by the Jaish al-Fatah alliance of rebel groups, dominated by the Nusra Front. The army destroyed a mined vehicle.
In late March, a coalition of rebel groups, including the Nusra Front, seized Idlib after five days of intensive clashes between militant groups and government forces.
In July, Jaish al-Fatah managed to seize a number of villages in the northern province of Hama.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting anti-government rebels and radical Islamists, including the notorious Islamic State militant group.
