Press TV, Iran
June 15 2014
Militants escape Kasab near Turkey border
Foreign-backed and Takfiri militants have fled the strategic town of
Kasab in northwestern Syria following the army presence in the area.
The militants, mostly from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, withdrew
from the Armenian town near the Turkish border on Saturday.
The withdrawal came after tanks of the Syrian army took position in
the nearby villages signaling an impending attack.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants
left behind “only a small number” of their men.
The militants are said to have pulled back to their strongholds in the
rural mountainous region of Jabal al-Akrad.
Kasab’s liberation is strategically important as the town is located
near the only border crossing with Turkey in the Latakia province.
The militants took control of the mostly Armenian-populated town last March.
Meanwhile, units of the Syrian army made major gains in their battles
against militants elsewhere in the country.
The Britain-based observatory said on Friday that at least 130,000
people have been forced out of their homes since late April.
The group added that Takfiri militants of the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL) were preventing food and medical supplies from
reaching some neighborhoods of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. Over
160,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due
to the violence fueled by the foreign-backed militants.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies —
especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the
militants operating inside Syria.
From: Baghdasarian