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Human rights group: Extremists capture Syrian city Idlib

By Amy R. Connolly

DAMASCUS, Syria, March 28 (UPI) -- An al-Qaida-affliated group and other extremists captured the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib for the first time during the country's four-year civil war Saturday, a U.K.-based monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa and Nusra Front groups took control of the city after four days of intense fighting. By taking Idlib, capital of the Syrian province with the same name, insurgents now control a second province after the Islamic State stronghold Raqqa.

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Syria has not confirmed the loss.

The capture of Idlib, with more than 100,000 residents, would be a blow to President Bashar al-Assad because the city is a strategically important link between Damascus to Aleppo.

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