ALEPPO
At least 30 Syrian regime soldiers were killed Monday in a major joint operation by opposition forces, which included the Al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front in Idlib, activists said.
The Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) said in a statement that the Free Syrian Army, Soldiers of Al-Aqsa and the Nusra Front launched a joint operation and gained the control of several regime-controlled areas in Idlib, in northwestern Syria.
The Free Syrian Army is a group formed by the defected Syrian armed forces' officers and soldiers, while the Jund Al-Aqsa (Soldiers of Al-Aqsa) is a battalion formed by Syrian and foreign fighters.
The Syrian Revolution General Commission said that Free Syrian Army militants besieged the city of Idlib in the morning hours, taking control of all strategic hills and blocking the emergency streets.
Meanwhile, the Nusra Front said in a statement that it had taken captive 12 soldiers. The statement said also that six Nusra Front militants had been killed in the clashes.
The Syria Live News Network said that opposition forces had taken the control of Al-Masdume and Al-Masara villages at the entrance of the Idlib city, the governorate building as well as its industrial zone.
More than 190,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict between Bashar al-Assad's regime and opposition forces began early 2011, according to the latest UN figures published in August.
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