Syrian rebels capture Jisr al-Shughour

Islamist rebels have captured the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour, their second major victory in less than a month as they push back Bashar al-Assad's forces in the north and inch closer to his coastal stronghold.

For the first time since their four year revolt began, opposition forces seized Jisr al-Shughour, one of the first places to take up arms against the president amid a crackdown on peaceful protests.

Rebel control of the town threatens supply lines to the few remaining government strongholds in northern Idlib province and could aid rebel advances east toward Syria's second city, Aleppo, or south toward the central city of Hama.

It is also a symbolic victory for Islamist supporters who remember Jisr al-Shughour as the site of a fierce regime crackdown in the 1980s.

Syria's state news agency indirectly acknowledged the army's withdrawal, saying that state forces were attacking rebels on the outskirts of the town.

The opposition victory comes less than a month after opposition forces seized nearby Idlib city, the second provincial capital to fall from Mr Assad's hands. These advances suggest Mr Assad is losing his grip on northwestern Syria.

An alliance of Islamist forces launched the offensive last month, calling themselves Jaish al-Fatah, "Army of Conquest." The Arabic word 'fatah' is a reference to 7th century Islamic conquests that spread Islam across the region.

Among the leading groups has been al-Qaeda's Syrian franchise, Jabhat al-Nusra, which some locals worry may try to use the region to make a base for itself along the lines of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in eastern Syria. The group denies such ambitions.

Rebel control of Jisr al-Shughour threatens Mr Assad's coastal stronghold, the heartland of his Alawite minority sect. Alawites have largely stood by the president, fearing the rising power of Islamist forces. Rebels are already attacking an Alawite village near Jisr al-Shughour, where they believe Assad forces have fled.

"After this, the battle will move to the enemy's territory, to the region that for four years has exported the shabiha," said opposition activist Tariq Abdelhaq, making a reference to pro-Assad militias, largely Alawite, that have been accused of several massacres of Sunni Muslims, Syria's majority group and the backbone of the opposition.

Thousands of civilians fled Jisr al-Shughour as government warplanes bombed the town in over 30 air raids, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. .

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