Leader of al Qaeda Syria wing says aims to take Damascus - TV

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda's Syria wing said his group was focused on capturing Damascus and warned members of the country's minority Alawite sect to renounce President Bashar al-Assad and change their beliefs in order to be safe.

The Nusra Front has made gains in northwestern Syria alongside other insurgent groups in recent weeks, seizing the city of Idlib, the town of Jisr al-Shughour and bringing them closer to government-held coastal areas north of the capital.