Syrian army retakes key rebel-held town

Syrian government troops recaptured the key rebel-held town of Adra northeast of the capital Damascus on Thursday, a security source and monitoring group said.

“This morning, the army retook control of Adra, reestablishing security,” the security source told AFP.

The rebels captured Adra in December last year and regime forces have been fighting to retake it ever since.

They have advanced incrementally in the town, one of the country’s biggest industrial zones strategically located northeast of Damascus.

The security source said the army had taken control on Thursday of an area in the town used to house workers, after securing the highway and the industrial zone.

He acknowledged, however, that Adra’s small Old City remained under rebel control.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed that the army now had full control over the area used to house workers.

Meanwhile the US and its Arab allies were launching more airstrikes into Syria Thursday against Islamic State militants.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told CNN Wednesday that US and coalition forces hit 12 targets, including oil refineries that were providing up to $2 million a day in income to the Islamic State group.

The strikes are a continuation of the broader military campaign that began Monday against the militant group. Four Arab nations — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and United Arab Emirates — participated in those strikes, and Qatar supported the attacks.