Syrian rebels seize town in west in blow to government

Syrian insurgents captured a town on a major highway in the west of the country on Thursday and fought fierce battles with pro-government militias around it, rebels and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
The town of Morek is located north of Hama city on a major highway that is crucial to control of western Syria, where the Syrian army backed by allied militia and Russian air strikes has been attempting to wrest back territory from rebels.
Its capture marks a significant blow to the Russian-backed campaign that has also been supported on the ground by Iranian forces. The Russian air force began air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad on Sept. 30.