Syrian army takes town near Damascus in blow to rebels

The wreckage of a burnt car is seen as people inspect a site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Qadi Askar district of Aleppo August 13, 2014. REUTERS/Rami Zayat

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah took control of a town just outside Damascus from Islamist fighters on Thursday, a blow to the rebels who had held it for more than a year.

Syrian state television broadcast showed government soldiers in the streets of Mleiha, which lies on the edge of the eastern Ghouta region near Damascus airport and had been surrounded by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Buildings were damaged or reduced to rubble, and tanks patrolled the streets.