Syrian soldiers entered eastern districts of the town of Yabroud on Saturday and advanced towards the main street of the last major rebel bastion near the Lebanese border north of Damascus, Al Mayadeen television said.
Capturing Yabroud would help President Bashar al-Assad secure the land route linking his Mediterranean coastal stronghold with the capital Damascus, and choke off a cross-border rebel supply line from Lebanon, Reuters reported.
Mass street protests against Assad broke out three years ago and escalated into civil war after a violent security crackdown on demonstrators.