Syrian Rebels Take Saraqeb

Town is of strategic importance to Assad's forces

Activists say the Syrian opposition has taken control of a strategic northern town that is crucial to the government's fierce campaign against rebels in the embattled city of Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have completely withdrawn from Saraqeb, where the main highways from Aleppo to Damascus and the Mediterranean coast meet.