Al-Qaeda Takfiri terrorists capture northwestern Syrian city of Ariha
A monitoring group says members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front terrorist group and allied force have taken full control of a strategic city in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.
The Britain-based so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said al-Nusra militants and fellow extremists marched into Ariha, which lies around 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of the provincial capital, Idlib, on Thursday and wrested control over it following fierce exchanges of fire with Syrian government forces.
The development comes as a recent report has revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conspired with Saudi Arabian authorities and facilitated the ground for foreign-sponsored militants to capture the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib last March following days of clashes with Syrian troops.
The report, published by Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Manar satellite television network and citing unnamed sources, said Riyadh funneled weapons and money to the militants, including al-Nusra members, while Ankara provided logistical support as well as massive fire cover for the extremists.
The al-Manar report also said that a command center has been set up in Turkey in order to organize the offensive against Idlib, located roughly 295 kilometers (183 miles) north of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Saudi officials, in return, paid for satellite images that the command center needed for the purpose.
On March 28, foreign-backed militants seized Idlib after more than five days of heavy clashes with Syrian soldiers.
Syria has been plagued by a deadly crisis fueled by Takfiri groups since March 2011. More than 222,000 people have so far been killed in the conflict, according to the UK-based monitoring group.
Over 3.8 million Syrians have also fled the violence to neighboring countries, namely Jordan and Lebanon, and more than 7.2 million others have become internally displaced, according to the United Nations.
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