SYRIAN government forces suffered a major setback yesterday when an alliance of jihadist groups, led by al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, took control of the north-western provincial capital of Idlib.

Idlib is only the second provincial capital to have fallen from regime control, after the March 2013 loss of Raqqa.

Islamic State (Isis) has since made Raqqa the de facto Syrian headquarters of the Islamic caliphate it has declared in territory under its control in Syria and Iraq.

With Idlib’s capture, al-Nusra and its allies control most of the north-western province, although President Bashar al-Assad’s forces maintain a presence in two other cities, as well as Abu Duhur military airport and several military bases in the region.

The al-Qaida success was welcomed by the Western-backed National Coalition, which called it “an important victory on the road to the full liberation of Syrian territory.”

The coalition did not refer to the composition of the forces that seized Idlib — Al-Nusra, the ultra-conservative Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa.

However, it expressed “confidence” that they would protect civilians and abide by international law and urged more “decisive” military aid for the anti-Assad opposition.

This is despite al-Nusra having driven pro-Western armed groups from the Idlib region last November while announcing its aim of establishing a rival caliphate to that of Isis.

State TV said government forces were repositioning units in the south of the city.

The government claimed last week that “thousands of terrorists” had streamed in from Turkey, which backs the jihadist forces, to attack Idlib.

The loss of Idlib is the second blow to government forces in recent days, after rebels, also led by al-Nusra, captured the strategic town of Busra Sham in southern Syria.

With world attention focused on Isis, al-Nusra has consolidated its positions in Syria in recent months, crushing pro-Western rebel groups and enforcing its own brutal version of sharia law.

Al-Nusra accused Assad forces yesterday of summarily executing 15 prisoners at a military intelligence detention facility before fleeing Idlib.

by Our Foreign Desk