Opposition forces retake town in northern Syria: activist group

DAMASCUS, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Forces of the Syrian opposition retook a strategic town in northern Syria on Monday, an activist group claimed.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a London-based activist group, said on its Facebook page that remaining government soldiers surrendered to the opposition in Khan al-Assal.

The town, located in Northern Aleppo province, has been contested for months in the Syrian conflict since March, when the Syrian government accused the opposition of using chemical weapons in the region.

Also on Monday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that clashes took place in Khan al-Assal, but stressed that the army eliminated most of the opposition, believed to be from Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate.

The alleged victory is the first the opposition has enjoyed in months. They suffered a major defeat in the border town of al-Qusair in June, and lost swaths of area in central Homs province recently.

The latest development came after a U.S pentagon official strongly warned on Saturday that the Syria conflict has severely deteriorated and could last "many, many months, to multiple years," regardless of whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stays in power.

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