Fighting intensifies in Syria's north after Assad gains

AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting is intensifying in northern Syria, where rebels say President Bashar al-Assad's forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies are preparing an offensive after success last week in seizing a strategic town further south.

The capture by Assad's forces and Hezbollah of the town of Qusair, which controls vital supply routes across Syrian and with Lebanon, is a sign of reversing momentum after the rebels seized swathes of the country in the second half of last year.