URGENT: Syrian Army seizes Abu Duhur airbase in east Idlib from Al-Qaeda

Lebanese media journalists embedded within the Syrian Arab Army report that elite Syrian troops have seized the strategic Abu Duhur military airport from Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

According to field correspondents of the Al-Manar news network, elite forces of the Syrian Arab Army have taken control of the Abu Duhur airbase – located in eastern Idlib province – from jihadist militants of the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda) rebel group.

Al-Manar’s claims come within the hour after military-affiliated sources reported that Syrian troops had entered the strategic military installation.

If true, then the Syrian Arab Army has completed the first main objective of its offensive operation in Idlib, kicked-off almost of month ago.

The Syrian Army lost the Abu Duhur military airbase to a jihadist-led rebel coalition in September 2015 after a two year siege against it.

All of the Syrian troops who were captured (a number put at 71) by militant groups fell into the hands of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra faction and were executed not long after the base’s fall.