Syrian government forces reached the outskirts of a key rebel-held town on Sunday, part of a weekslong offensive into the country's last rebel stronghold, state media and opposition activists said.
According to opposition activists and paramedics, Maaret al-Numan is now almost empty as a result of the intense bombardment in recent weeks.
Hadi Abdullah, an opposition activist based in Idlib, said Syrian warplanes and helicopter gunships were pounding areas near Maaret al-Numan.
Opposition activists said government forces are now less than a kilometer (mile) away from the town.
Syrian state TV said government forces captured the village of Ghadqa near Maaret al-Numan early Sunday.
Among the six nearby villages captured over the past two days were Tel Manas and Maarshamarin, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news agency SANA.