Around 180 Syrian soldiers, jihadists reported killed in battle for base
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Around 100 Syrian soldiers and 80 Islamist fighters were killed during a two-day battle in which insurgents captured the Wadi al-Deif military base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Tuesday.
The Britain-based group said Islamist insurgents including al Qaeda's Syria wing, the Nusra Front, on Monday took the base next to the country's main north-south highway linking Aleppo with Damascus. Fighters also captured the smaller Hamidiya base, southwest of the Wadi al-Deif, the Observatory said.
The group said that around 120 soldiers were captured in the assault, citing insurgent sources.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had previously managed to repel numerous attacks on Wadi al-Deif in Idlib province, which has been surrounded by insurgents for two years.
