Islamist rebels say capture army base in Syria's Idlib province

A coalition of Islamist rebels said they seized a Syrian army base in northwestern Idlib province at dawn on Monday after a suicide bomber from al Qaeda's Nusra Front drove a truck packed with explosives inside and set it off. It would allow the rebels to tighten their siege on the major Mastouma army base nearby which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks. "A truck with two tonnes of explosives penetrated one of the entrances of the camp that made it easier to take over the camp," Sheikh Husam Abu Bakr, a rebel commander from Ahrar al Sham said via Skype. Insurgents have been trying to push the army out of the few remaining government areas in the province, bringing them closer to Latakia, the ancestral home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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