World

Syria rebels destroy bridges in anticipation of offensive

31 of August 2018

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2013, file photo, smoke rises after a TNT bomb was thrown from a helicopter, hitting a rebel position during heavy fighting between troops loyal to president Bashar Assad and opposition fighters, in a neighbouring village to Kafr Nabuda, in the Idlib province countryside, Syria. The campaign for Idlib, the opposition’s only remaining stronghold in the country and now a refuge for over one million displaced Syrians, is likely to be the last major theater of battle after seven years of brutal civil war. (AP Photo/File),FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2013, file photo, smoke rises after a TNT bomb was thrown from a helicopter, hitting a rebel position during heavy fighting between troops loyal to president Bashar Assad and opposition fighters, in a neighbouring village to Kafr Nabuda, in the Idlib province countryside, Syria. The campaign for Idlib, the opposition’s only remaining stronghold in the country and now a refuge for over one million displaced Syrians, is likely to be the last major theater of battle after seven years of brutal civil war. (AP Photo/File)

BEIRUT (AP) — A Syria war monitoring group says opposition fighters have blown up two bridges linking areas they control to government-held territories in northwestern Syria in anticipation of a military offensive.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday the Turkey-backed rebels blew up the bridges as Syria and its ally Russia warn of a military operation to restore government control over Idlib and the surrounding areas, which are the last rebel strongholds in Syria. An offensive in the area home to some 3 million Syrians is likely to trigger a major humanitarian crisis.

The bridges linked rebel and government-held villages in al-Ghab plains, south of Idlib.

Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Observatory, said the explosions rocked the area and came after rebels detected troop movement in the area.