Activists: Insurgents seize village south of Aleppo

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens and firefighters gather at the scene where one of rockets hit the Dubeet hospital in the central neighborhood of Muhafaza in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Shells and mortar rounds are raining down on every neighborhood Aleppo," said Aleppo-based health official Mohammad Hazouri, speaking from Al-Razi hospital. (SANA via AP) In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens and firefighters gather at the scene where one of rockets hit the Dubeet hospital in the central neighborhood of Muhafaza in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Shells and mortar rounds are raining down on every neighborhood Aleppo," said Aleppo-based health official Mohammad Hazouri, speaking from Al-Razi hospital. (SANA via AP)

By Associated Press May 6, 2016 1 min read

BEIRUT (AP) – Activists say a coalition of Syrian rebels and hard-line jihadists have seized a strategic village from pro-government forces just 4 miles (6 kilometers) from the contested city of Aleppo.

The Britain-based monitoring group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at Friday that least 43 insurgents and 30 pro-government fighters died in the battle for Khan Touman.

Aleppo-area opposition media activist Bahaa al-Halaby says the insurgents took control of Khan Touman around 7 a.m.

The offensive signals the reemergence of the powerful Jaish al-Fatah, or Army of Conquest, jihadist coalition in the conflict. It is made up predominantly of militants from al-Qaida’s Syria Affiliate, the Nusra Front, and other ultraconservative factions. The Observatory says other non-jihadist rebels fought for Khan Touman on the side of the coalition, too.