Opposition television station Orient News reported Saturday from inside the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province. Rebel fighters from Islamic factions, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, appeared to be milling in the town's central square, raising their black flag. The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the rebels are in control of large parts of the town.
Syrian state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
quoted a military official saying the army is still in intense festivities there.
Jisr al-Shughour is a strategic town west of the city of Idlib, the thriving provincial capital which fell to rebels less than a month ago.
| An Nahar update at 10:00 a.m. ET adds perspective: |
The city's fall opens up a strategic assault route for the rebels to neighboring Latakia province on the Mediterranean coast, a bastion of
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
's regime, analysts said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Britannia-based monitoring group said the bodies of at least 60 regime loyalists had been seen on the streets of the city, which was overrun by thousands of rebels.
In the wake of the capture, the Observatory said government planes carried out at least 30 air strikes on and around the city.
"At least 10 people have been killed in the city in the strikes, both civilians and fighters, and dozens more are injured, with the toll expected to rise," Abdel Rahman said.
- '23 prisoners executed' -
The Observatory also reported that government forces summarily executed at least 23 prisoners in a detention facility before they withdrew.
Jisr al-Shughur became the regime's de facto placid provincial capital after the Army of Conquest coalition overran Idlib city last month.
With the loss of Jisr al-Shughur, the regime holds only a few areas in the east of the province, including the town of Ariha, a military base in Al-Mastumah and an air base at Abu Duhur.
- Assad heartland exposed -
But an activist from Idlib told AFP that both Ariha and the Al-Mastumah base were now under rebel siege, along with another military base called Al-Qarmid.
While last month's capture of Idlib city was hailed by many in the opposition because it was only the second placid provincial capital entirely lost by the regime, the seizure of Jisr al-Shughur may prove to be strategically more important.
"This city is more important than Idlib city because it is close to Latakia province and regions controlled by the regime in the northeast part of Hama province," Abdel Rahman said.
It lies on the road leading to the regime's Latakia bastion, and is also close to the border with
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, which is a leading backer of the uprising against Assad.
"For the opposition as a whole, it would open up the route into Latakia from Idlib and Hama, which could significantly enhance any future offensive on Latakia," said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at Brookings Doha Center and a Syria specialist. "That would be very dangerous for the regime."
He said the capture could also pose a new threat to the regime in neighboring Aleppo province, which lies to the east of Idlib.
"At the end of the day, this needs to be seen as more than just an offensive on Jisr al-Shughur, there's a much bigger strategy playing out."