Rebels make gains against Assad forces north of Aleppo

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Al-Qaeda’s Syria wing Nusra Front backed by Islamist rebels on Friday have taken full control of Hardatneen village in the northern countryside of Aleppo, arresting 8 militants loyal to Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebel forces had taken back the strategic Mallah Farms area outside the city, as well as several villages seized by the Assad troops in an offensive that began Tuesday.

The advances were a setback for the regime, which had hoped to block the highway leading to the Turkish border from the rebel-held east of Aleppo, AFP said.