Syria's army has seized full control of the rebel bastion Yabrud, dealing the opposition a strategic blow in the Qalamoun region adjoining the Lebanese border.
Syrian soldiers sat in the streets of the town on Sunday after it was taken in fierce clashes that saw the regime troops backed by Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement and militiamen.
Earlier, the army announced it had "returned security and stability" to the settlement and its surroundings.
"This new success ... is an important step towards securing the border area with Lebanon, and cutting off the roads and tightening the noose around the remaining terrorist cells in Damascus province," the military added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO, said Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement had led the operation and "taken control of large parts of Yabrud".
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The Observatory and sources across the border in Lebanon reported multiple air raids including with explosive-packed barrel bombs on the area between Yabrud and Arsal inside Lebanon.
The NGO said at least six people were killed in raids on the area, among them two children.
Syrian state television said the army was targeting "groups of terrorists" fleeing Yabrud in the direction of Arsal.
The fall of Yabrud comes after months of Syrian army operations in the strategic Qalamoun region, north of Damascus, where the town is situated.
The town was once home to some 30,000 people, including a Christian minority, and had been a rebel bastion since early in the Syrian uprising that began in March 2011.
In addition to its symbolic importance, it is a key strategic prize because of its proximity to the highway and the Lebanese border, across which rebels have smuggled fighters and weapons.
"It underlines yet again that the real momentum in the strategic zones of this conflict is now with the government," said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brooking Doha Centre.
The town's seizure could also place new pressure on Lebanon's Arsal, which is hosting at least 51,000 Syrian refugees, many from the Qalamoun region.
Sunni Arsal is largely sympathetic to the Sunni-led uprising, and rebel fighters are believed to have bases in areas around the town, which are regularly targeted by Syrian war planes.
