Syria troops seize strategic Qara village

Syrian troops on Tuesday captured the village of Qara in the mountainous Qalamoun region along a strategic supply route between Damascus and Homs, a military source told AFP. The reported capture came after days of air strikes on the region near the Lebanese border, which is also a key smuggling route for rebels battling to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "After three days of fighting, the Syrian army has taken full control of Qara," some 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the capital, the Syrian military source said, adding that a "large number of terrorists" had been killed, referring to the rebels.