Syrian Rebels Say Seize Town Along Highway Linking Damascus to Aleppo

Would be a strategic victory

Syrian opposition fighters have taken control of Maarat al-Numan, a strategic town in Idlib province on the highway linking Damascus with the commercial hub of Aleppo, activists say.

"Regular forces pulled back from all of their checkpoints around Maarat al-Numan, except for one at the entrance of the town," Rami Abdel Rahman, a UK-based activist who gets information from a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said on Tuesday.