Al-Qaeda's Syria franchise seizes last regime base in Idlib

Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate has seized control of the last military base held by the regime in the north-western province of Idlib, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.

The Nusra Front and allied Islamist groups had captured nearly all of the Abu Zuhour military airport after a siege that lasted two years, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Syrian state television also announced "the retreat of the army... which had protected the airport during a two-year-siege".

The capture of Abu Zuhour air base is the latest in a series of setbacks for government forces in northwestern Idlib province.

Earlier this year, militant groups captured the provincial capital of Idlib, also named Idlib, as well as other towns and villages.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 250,000 people since March 2011.