The Syrian army said its troops entered a rebel-held town in the southern province of Deraa on Wednesday in an assault which rebels say was aided by the heaviest Russian aerial bombing campaign so far in the south.
Troops were in Sheikh Maskin's main square and had taken over the eastern and northern neighborhoods of the town that lies on a major supply route from Syria's capital Damascus to the city of Deraa, the army said in a statement.
A rebel source confirmed that troops had entered the outskirts of the town but said fierce clashes continued.