(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian insurgents took control of most of a town on a major highway in the west of the country after heavy battles with pro-government militias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Thursday.
Islamist insurgents from the Jund al-Aqsa group, backed by other fighters, seized large parts of Morek town in Hama province. The town sits north of Hama city on the north-south highway running through Syria's major cities in the mainly regime-held west.
According to Reuters, the capture comes after months of fighting between the insurgents and fighters from the National Defence Force and other militia, said the Observatory, which tracks the conflict using sources on the ground.
Hama Rebels shot down a fighter jet on Wednesday,the Observatory said.
The Syrian MiG-23 was downed near the village of Kafr Nabouda in northern Hama, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Activists say rebels have used an anti-craft missile, a such development rises regime concerns.
On Tuesday, rebels seized Tal Othman military base and the nearby village of al Janabra in the western countryside of Hama, activist Mustafa Abu Arab said. The strategic hill was regime's first defense line to secure loyal villages in al Ghab plain.
More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
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