Mujahideen from the Islamic group Jabhat al-Nusra, or Victory Front, have captured a Syrian oil town near the city of Hasaka, Western media reported. Video of Islamic fighters celebrating at a battle-scarred compound said to be in the town of al-Shaddada (see map) was posted on social media.
30 Mujahideen were martyred, 100 Alawite soldiers eliminated and dozens of civilians became victims of Assad's gangs, BBC News referring to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.
Al-Shaddada is a town to the south of Hasaka, capital of the province (see map) of the same name, which accounts for most of the country's oil output.
Reuters news agency quoted a spokesman for the main Syrian rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, as saying al-Nusra Mujahideen had overrun Alawite security and military intelligence compounds in al-Shaddada.
The spokesman said an army garrison guarding a nearby gas field, al-Ghabsa, had fled as armed Mujahideen units advanced towards al-Shaddada.
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Meanwhile, opposition activists also said Islamic fighters were battling Assad's forces for control of the main airport in the northern city of Aleppo (see map).
According to human rights activists, regime warplanes were pounding rebel positions Thursday near Aleppo's international airport (see map), trying to counter recent rebel advances in the area.
Islamic fighters have been attacking the airfield for weeks, and took over most of the "Brigade 80" military base protecting it on Wednesday.
Opposition activists said fierce clashes Thursday were taking place around the airport, which remains in regime hands. He said there were also reports of heavy fighting at another nearby military air base called Nairab (see map).
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