Fierce fighting raged in Latakia province on Syria's coastline
on Sunday, as the army pushed an advance and killed a local leader, a
monitoring group has said.
The regime deployed massive reinforcements to fight rebels in Latakia, which has strategic and symbolic significance because it Syrians that belong to President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect are majority there.
Rebels positioned in remote enclaves of Latakia's mountains launched the "battle for the liberation of the Syrian coast" about two weeks ago.
Poorly equipped local fighters allied themselves with the religiously conservative Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), despite a history of poor relations, London-based NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army sent "massive reinforcements" to Latakia to fight the rebels and "bombed rebel areas heavily".
State television said the army has reclaimed rebel positions in the province, including Kharata, Janzuriyeh, Baluta, Baruda and Hambushiyeh.
But according to Abdel Rahman, "the army has only been able to secure the outskirts of some villages. The battles are ongoing and they are fierce".
"Scores of foreign fighters are being killed in the Latakia fighting," he said, adding that among them was a Libyan emir or local leader of ISIS.
"Confirmed reports emerged of the killing of a Libyan ISIS emir while fighting in Jamusiyeh village," said the monitoring group.
[AFP]
The regime deployed massive reinforcements to fight rebels in Latakia, which has strategic and symbolic significance because it Syrians that belong to President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect are majority there.
Rebels positioned in remote enclaves of Latakia's mountains launched the "battle for the liberation of the Syrian coast" about two weeks ago.
Poorly equipped local fighters allied themselves with the religiously conservative Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), despite a history of poor relations, London-based NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army sent "massive reinforcements" to Latakia to fight the rebels and "bombed rebel areas heavily".
State television said the army has reclaimed rebel positions in the province, including Kharata, Janzuriyeh, Baluta, Baruda and Hambushiyeh.
But according to Abdel Rahman, "the army has only been able to secure the outskirts of some villages. The battles are ongoing and they are fierce".
"Scores of foreign fighters are being killed in the Latakia fighting," he said, adding that among them was a Libyan emir or local leader of ISIS.
"Confirmed reports emerged of the killing of a Libyan ISIS emir while fighting in Jamusiyeh village," said the monitoring group.
[AFP]
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