Russia says Syrian army suffers losses, retreats in attack disputed by rebels

Reuters|
Syrian state media said militants launched a major attack on government forces in Idlib on Thursday that Russia's defense ministry said killed up to 40 Syrian soldiers, though the account was disputed by a rebel official and war monitor.
Idlib is the last rebel-held swathe of territory in the country and hundreds of thousands of people in the area have fled in recent weeks amid heavy airstrikes by Russian and Syrian forces.
Russia's defense ministry said that militants had seized two settlements in one of the offensives, which began on Wednesday, forcing Syrian army troops to abandon some of their positions in the southeast of the so-called Idlib de-escalation zone under rocket fire.
Syrian state media made no mention of army casualties but said an attack that included car bombs and heavy gunfire early on Thursday had forced some of its forces to re-deploy.
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