Syria army recaptures rebel bastion Yabrud

YABRUD: Syria´s army seized full control of the rebel bastion Yabrud on Sunday, dealing the opposition a heavy symbolic and strategic blow in the Qalamoun region adjoining the Lebanese border.

An AFP reporter entered the town after the army declared it had captured the opposition stronghold north of the capital.

Syrian soldiers sat in the streets after it was taken in fierce clashes that saw the regime troops backed by Lebanon´s Shiite Hezbollah movement and pro-regime militiamen.Earlier, the army announced it had "returned security and stability to the town of Yabrud and its surroundings in northern Damascus province."

"This new success... is an important step towards securing the border area with Lebanon, and cutting off the roads and tightening the noose around the remaining terrorist cells in Damascus province," the military added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO, said Lebanon´s Shiite Hezbollah movement had led the operation and "taken control of large parts of Yabrud."

The Observatory and sources across the border in Lebanon reported multiple air raids including with explosive-packed barrel bombs on the area between Yabrud and Arsal inside Lebanon.

The NGO said at least six people were killed in raids on the area, among them two children.

Syrian state television said the army was targeting "groups of terrorists" fleeing Yabrud in the direction of Arsal.

The fall of Yabrud comes after months of Syrian army operations in the strategic Qalamoun region, north of Damascus, where the town is situated.

Late last year, the army captured a string of nearby towns before turning it sights to Yabrud.

The town was once home to some 30,000 people, including a Christian minority, and had been a rebel bastion since early in the Syrian uprising that began in March 2011.