PHOTO: Islamic Front fighter looks down on Ariha, captured by rebels on Thursday

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Syria’s rebels won another notable victory on Thursday, capturing the town of Ariha in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

The rebel coalition Jaish al-Fatah announced the takeover of Ariha, one of the last areas held by the regime in the province, within hours of declaring an offensive.

See Syria Developing: Rebels Capture Ariha, One of Last Assad Positions in Idlib Province

The victory follows the capture of Idlib city, the provincial capital, on March 28; the city of Jisr al-Shughour on April 26; and two of the regime’s remaining military camps in the province. It opens up the prospect of rebel advances in Aleppo and/or Hama Provinces, putting more pressure on Syrian forces in the cities of Aleppo and Hama, two of the four largest in Syria.

As significant as the gain of Ariha was the manner in which it achieved. Pro-Assad outlets had declared that the town was vital to the regime’s future in northwest Syria, some saying that elite forces — including those of the prominent commander Suheil “The Tiger” Hassan, had been deployed to finally check the months-long rebel offensive.

However, once the attack began on Thursday morning, the Syrian forces crumbled as checkpoints were overrun, the nearby village of Kafr Najd was occupied, and opposition fighters moved into northern and eastern Ariha. Only hours after regime backers said the rebels would be repelled, they were acknowledging withdrawal from the town.

The moment that the rebels moved into Ariha, just before sunset:

Journalist Hadi al-Abdallah with rebels after they moved into Ariha on Thursday night:

The scene in Ariha on Friday morning, with rebels burning and tearing apart an Assad poster:

Those parts of State media which admitted the retreat said it was an orderly redeployment. However, video and local sources testified to Syrian troops fleeing without any organization, hoping to outrun rebel units that were pursuing them along the M4 highway to the west. Other villages such as Ma’ataram and Urum al-Joz — where Syrian forces initially hoped they could regroup — were soon taken by the rebels.

Rebels are also claiming, with videos from a military police building, that Assad forces executed some of their own soldiers and civilian detainees before withdrawing.

Rebels use an anti-tank missile to destroy two armored vehicles, with retreating troops, under the Ma’ataram bridge:

The center of Ma’ataram:

State news agency SANA still has not admitted the loss. Instead, it claims this morning, “The army confronted attempts of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists to infiltrate, with large numbers, to Ariha, destroying a number of mortar-launchers that target the civilians.”

Video of regime troops killed as they fled Ariha on the highway to the west (Warning — Graphic Images):

Other footage shows slain troops in a ditch near Urum al-Joz.

Jaish al-Fatah has not announced its next moves. However, this morning the Assad regime has — with the exception of a couple of encircled villages to the north of Idlib city — been removed from Idlib Province, with no foreseeable prospect that it can regain any territory.

First-person footage of the final advance on Ariha:

Report from the center of Ariha:

Al-Abdallah with rebels inside Ariha, standing over the body of a fighter whom they claim was with Hezbollah:

Video: Aftermath of Regime Bombing in and near Aleppo City

While its ground forces retreat, the Syrian military continues to bomb across the country — aftermath of a strike on Anadan in Aleppo Province, including retrieval of bodies:

Barrel-bombing of the Maadi neighborhood in Aleppo city during Friday Prayers:

Islamic State Mixes Executions, Restoration of Services To Take Control of Palmyra

Based on interviews with six residents of Palmyra, The New York Times offers this snapshot of the Islamic State’s efforts to take control of the historic city in central Syria, captured last week from regime forces:

Hours after they swept into the Syrian city of Palmyra last week, Islamic State militants carried out scores of summary executions, leaving the bodies of victims — including dozens of government soldiers — in the streets.

Then, residents say, they set about acting like municipal functionaries. They fixed the power plant, turned on the water pumps, held meetings with local leaders, opened the city’s lone bakery and started distributing free bread. They planted their flag atop Palmyra’s storied ancient ruins, and did not immediately loot and destroy them, as they have done at other archaeological sites.

Next came dozens of Syrian government airstrikes, some killing civilians. That gave the Islamic State a political assist: Within days, some residents had redirected the immediate focus of their anger and fear from the militants on the ground to the warplanes overhead.

The local sources support claims that the Islamic State killed 20 Syrian troops in an ancient amphitheater on Wednesday, and said they had seen the bodies of soldiers burned alive or beheaded.

The residents said most of those summarily executed were soldiers and government employees. They described seeing 30 to 80 corpses, mostly soldiers and some civilians, including people known as recruiters for pro-Assad militias.

In contrast to the treatment of Syrian forces, the residents say that “militants have not immediately attacked activists who oppose both them and the government”.

Naser al-Thaer, a member of the Coordination Council of the Syrian Revolution in Palmyra, spoke with Syria Direct about the executions on Wednesday.

The scene consisted of 15 people in the Palmyra amphitheater who were executed by live fire, not by knife. Around 100 people attended the execution, half civilians and the other half IS fighters. IS did not force civilians to attend, those who went attended by their own free will and because of their curiosity. If IS had forced people to attend, the theater would have been packed.

Civilians were forbidden to take pictures, only the IS photographers were allowed to. It was cinematic when they filmed the execution.

Thaer said the executed soldiers were “Iranian” or “other Asiatic nationalities”.