Syrian army seizes rebel-held town in Aleppo province

The Syrian army and allied forces captured the town of Al Hader in the northern province of Aleppo on Thursday, state television said, opening the way for advances into a strategic rebel-held area northern Syria with the backing of Russian air power.

The rebels fled the town south of Aleppo city after pro-government forces took full control, it said, quoting a military source.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Al Hader was the main bastion of rebels in the province's rural south, where a major government assault backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Russian air strikes began last month.