Military base in Syria captured by rebels; al-Assad losing grip on Idlib

DAMASCUS, Syria, April 28 (UPI) -- Rebels have seized a military base in northwest Syria soon after capturing a strategic town in the Idlib province, inching closer to President Bashar al-Assad's fortifications.

The seizure of the al-Qarmeed military base on Monday gives the rebels a stronger foothold in the Idlib province. A suicide car bomb on the base initiated the rebel's efforts to push Assad's forces out of northern Syria.

Rebel factions, including U.S.-backed militants, Islamist groups and the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syrian faction, loosely coordinated to seize the strategic town of Jisr al-Shoghour on Saturday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"We are planning to liberate the entire province," Baraa Halaq, a spokesman for Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham, said. "And once we are finished with Idlib, we will turn to Hama and [Latakia]."

The Hama and Latakia provinces are essential supporters of Assad's regime. The al-Nusra Front and rebel forces have dubbed the campaign in Idlib the "Battle of Victory."

Recent Syrian government airstrikes on a town near the Turkish border killed and wounded dozens of civilians on Sunday. The strikes hit Darkoush, a town in Idlib province, where the Syrian army has suffered a series of recent setbacks from the offensive by rebel forces.

At least 60 civilians were killed and wounded in the bombardment.

Fred Lambert contributed to this report.