DAMASCUS (AP) — Syrian rebels including members of al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra entered a predominantly Christian village near Damascus on Saturday and are fighting government forces in the old part of the town, activists and state media said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels broke in to Maaloula in the early hours after starting the offensive the previous night, leaving casualties on both sides. The group says Jabhat al-Nusra members are among those fighting in the area.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said government forces “wiped out a number of terrorists” while targeting their hideouts near Maaloula, using its preferred term for rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad. It gave no further details.
It was the second attack on the area in nearly three months. Opposition fighters, including jihadis, stormed the village and held it for several days until troops launched a counter offensive in early September and regained control. Since then, most of Maaloula’s 3,300 residents fled to safer areas.
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