Terrorists seize 2nd army base in Syria’s northwest

Foreign-backed militant group Ahrar al-Sham has allegedly captured a Syrian army base in the northwestern part of the country.

Hussam Abu Bakr, a spokesman for the terrorist group, said that the militants took control of Hamidiyeh base located near the town of Maaret al-Numan in the province of Idlib.

Earlier in the day, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front backed by another militant group seized the Wadi Deif base.

The Takfiri group also claimed in a message posted on its Twitter account that it has taken the base.

Abu Bakr further said that Syrian government forces first retreated from Wadi Deif to Hamidiyeh and then from Hamidiyeh to a nearby village.

According to the Britain-based Observatory, at least 31 government troops and 12 militants have been killed in the clashes since Sunday.

Syrian government troops reportedly regained control of nine villages around the northeastern city al-Hasakah, located approximately 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus on Sunday.

Over the past months, Syrian soldiers have made numerous gains in the battle against the foreign-sponsored militants, inflicting heavy losses on them in several areas.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly conflict since March 2011. Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey – are the main supporters of the militants operating inside Syria.

More than 200,000 people have so far died in the Syrian conflict, according to the UN.