Syrian troops and allied militia pushed rebel fighters back on Wednesday from a hilltop overlooking a strategic highway in President Bashar al-Assad's coastal heartland, state media said.
Citing a military source, state news agency SANA said army units and pro-government militia "took full control of the strategic Jabal Nuba after killing a number of terrorists".
Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, told AFP that the hill overlooks the main rebel supply line between Latakia - a bastion of Assad support - and second city Aleppo.