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Islamist rebels seize Jisr al-Shughour hospital from army
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Salafist tough guys Friday overran a hospital in northwest Syria where at least 150 regime forces and dozens of civilians were trapped for nearly a month, activists said.

Al-Nusra Front, which is Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and other factions "have taken complete control of Jisr al-Shughour hospital," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The monitoring group's head said "dozens" had managed to flee but others were killed, maimed or taken hostage, without giving exact figures.

Earlier this month, Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
had pledged to free the besieged forces, saying his "army will arrive soon to these heroes trapped in the Jisr al-Shughour hospital."

The hospital complex is in the southwest of the town in Idlib province that rebels seized on April 25.

At least 150 regime forces and dozens of civilians, including families and government babus bureaucrats, had since remained trapped in the hospital.

Rebel groups have made a series of major gains in Idlib province, including its capital city of the same name that they seized on March 28.

And on Tuesday, rebels took control of Al-Mastumah, the regime's largest military base in the province.
Posted by: Fred 2015-05-23
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=418506