Al Qaeda group seizes bastion of Western-backed rebels in Syria's Idlib region

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamist militants affiliated to al Qaeda seized the last remaining stronghold of Western-backed rebels in Syria's northwest province of Idlib on Saturday after days of fighting, rebels and a monitoring group said.

Backed by other hardline Islamist groups, the Nusra Front are waging a major military campaign against the Syria Revolutionaries' Front led by Jamal Maarouf, a key figure in the armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, after accusing him of being corrupt and working for the West against them.