Clashes between insurgent factions in Syria
Syrian opposition activists are reporting intense clashes in the northwestern province of Idlib between two of Syria's most powerful insurgent groups.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes began when the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham attacked positions of the extremist Jund al-Aqsa group in several areas in Idlib. It said nine Ahrar al-Sham fighters were killed.
The Local Coordination Committees said Ahrar al-Sham fighters captured the Mastoumeh base, a former Syrian army barracks, from Jund al-Aqsa Friday afternoon. Fighting between the two groups is uncommon, but some insurgents have complained about Jund al-Aqsa's extremist ideology.
