Assad forces attack strategic town near Turkey
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President Bashar Assad's forces launched a helicopter-backed offensive to retake a rebel-held Syrian town near the Turkish border on Monday, killing four opposition fighters, an opposition Free Syrian Army official said.
The fighting in Qastal Maaf, a mountain town on the road from the port of Latakia to Turkey, marks the first outbreak of major fighting in the strategic forest region, 8 km (5 miles) from the border and home to some of Syria's northern air defenses, Selim al-Omar said from Latakia. (Reuters)
