Beirut: Syrian activists and state media say President Bashar Assad`s forces have captured a strategic town near Damascus after a five-week battle with rebels.
Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, says government troops regained control of the town of Otaybah, east of the capital, late yesterday.
State-run SANA news agency said on Thursday that the Army has "restored complete control" over Otaybah.
The town is located on a road linking Damascus to its international airport, along which rebels have been transporting weapons and other supplies from neighbouring Jordan.
The opposition has found strong support in the city`s surrounding towns and neighbourhoods since the beginning of the two-year-old conflict.
Rebels fighting to topple Assad hope to eventually storm the capital from there.
PTI
