Syrian rebels captured a major air base in the north of the country on Tuesday after months of fighting, depriving President Bashar Assad’s forces of one of their main posts near the border with Turkey, activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Mannagh helicopter base fell nearly 24 hours after rebels, led by Al-Qaeda-linked militants, launched an all-out offensive against it. The Aleppo Media Center said rebels finally captured it before dawn. Mannagh, in the north of Aleppo province, is deep inside territory dominated by the Syrian opposition. Rebels have been trying since last year to capture it, but faced strong resistance from defenders.
Rebels seized part of it in June, and since then its fall has been widely expected. The air base is the largest to fall in rebel hands since Opposition forces captured the Taftanaz base in of Idlib in January. The Observatory said the final assault on Mannagh was led by members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the levant.