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Via JPost
Government forces backed by Hezbollah fighters took full control of the Syrian town of Yabroud on Sunday after driving out rebel fighters, state media said, helping President Bashar Assad to secure the land route linking the capital Damascus to the former commercial hub of Aleppo and the Mediterranean coast.
The fall of Yabroud, the last rebel bastion near the Lebanese border, would also choke off a vital insurgent supply line from Lebanon and consolidate government control over a swathe of territory from Damascus to the central city of Homs.
State television SANA said government forces had won “complete control” over the town, killing or capturing many rebels.
A military source told Reuters most of the rebels had pulled out of Yabroud around dawn, a day after government forces entered its eastern districts and captured several hilltops.
Troops had dismantled a large number of explosive devices planted by the rebels, SANA said.
A fighter in Yabroud from the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s official affiliate in Syria, confirmed to Reuters the rebels had decided to pull out. They were heading towards nearby villages including Hosh Arab, Rankos and Fleita, he said.
Fighters from the Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah supported the Syrian army and pro-government fighters in sealing off the frontier area with Lebanon.