BREAKING NEWS

Syrian military source alleges Turkish role in Idlib offensive

BEIRUT/AMMAN - A Syrian military source accused Turkey on Monday of helping Islamist rebels to stage an assault on Idlib, a provincial capital which fighters seized at the weekend.
The source declined to comment on the situation in Idlib, citing security considerations, but a monitoring group has confirmed the al- Qaida-linked Nusra Front and allies now control Idlib and said the Syrian air force bombed the city on Monday.
The fall of Idlib, 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, marks only the second time in the Syrian civil war that Damascus has lost control of a provincial capital. The first was Raqqa, which the ultra-radical Islamic State group has turned into the de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate.
Echoing more general comments by President Bashar Assad, the military source accused both Turkey and Jordan of supporting the insurgents in their Idlib offensive, saying they were "leading operations and planning them." The insurgents were using advanced communication apparatus that had been supplied to them via Turkey, the source added.
The Turkish foreign ministry declined to comment.