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Syrian army presses on in Idlib province as death toll rises

This photo released by the opposition Syrian Civil Defense rescue group, also known as White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a civil defense worker inspecting destroyed buildings after airstrikes hit the town of Jarjnas, in Idlib province, Syria. Syrian opposition activists said government warplanes have struck towns and villages in the northwestern province of Idlib including one near a Turkish observation post. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

BEIRUT — Syrian state-run media and a war monitor say government forces are pressing ahead with their military offensive in Idlib province, seizing a cluster of villages on the southeastern edges of the province.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media reported on Thursday that troops captured three small villages in the area. Their next target appears to be the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan, which lies near the Damascus-Aleppo highway.

Idlib is the Syrian opposition’s final stronghold. The opposition Syrian Civil Defence group of first responders said airstrikes on Maaret al-Numan on Wednesday killed 12 people and wounded 34.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, also reported 12 deaths.

The U.N. says over 550 civilians have been killed since the offensive on Idlib began in late April.

The Associated Press