More than 20 killed in Syrian regime strikes

Syrian government forces have carried out a series of air raids and shelled several areas in the country’s northwest in an apparent attempt to halt a rebel advance, killing at least 20 civilians, activists say.

State-owned news agency SANA said troops were targeting “terrorists.” The government refers to all of its armed opponents as terrorists.

Islamist insurgents, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, have been gaining territory in Idlib province in recent weeks, seizing the provincial capital of the same name, the town of Jisr al-Shughour and an important military base.

Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij is on an official visit to Iran, Syria’s main ally.

“There must be a stance to evaluate ways to confront terrorism, particularly after the recent escalation,” al-Freij says in a press conference with his Iranian counterpart. “Our views are identical on the upcoming steps to deal with terrorism,” he says, without elaborating.

— AP