Syrian gov't forces seize more villages in northwest

BEIRUT — The Syrian army on Sunday seized a dozen villages and small towns as they pressed an offensive in the country's northwest against the last major rebel bastion, a war monitor said.

The government forces have kept up the assault on the Idlib region and areas of neighbouring Aleppo and Latakia provinces since December.

On Sunday, they captured 13 villages and small towns north and northwest of the city of Aleppo, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Syria's state run agency SANA said army units were pushing on with their advance around Aleppo.

The army has for weeks been making gains in northwestern Syria and chipping away at territory held by extremists and allied rebels, focusing their latest operations on the west of Aleppo province.

The drive aims to bolster security in Syria's second city Aleppo, which the army retook completely from insurgents at the end of 2016 but which is still targeted by rocket fire.

Last week, the army seized control of the strategic M5 highway which connects the capital Damascus to Aleppo, the country's former economic hub, and is economically vital for the government.

According to the observatory, the government forces are trying to consolidate a "security belt" around the M5 and on Friday they seized a key base lost to the rebels in 2012 just west of Aleppo.