Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate and its allies seized the last major government-held city in Idlib province yesterday, in a blow that could expose the regime's coastal heartland to rebel attack.

The city's fall opens up a strategic assault route for the rebels to neighbouring Latakia province on the Mediterranean coast, a bastion of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, analysts said.Sources said the bodies of at least 60 regime loyalists had been seen on the streets of the city, which was overrun by thousands of rebels.

In Iraq, Islamic State militants took partial control of a water dam and military barracks guarding it in the western Anbar province after fierce fighting through the night that continued yesterday, security sources and witnesses said.

Dozens of Iraqi troops were killed in the fighting, but poor communications in the area made it difficult to confirm a precise figure, said Athal al-Fahdawi, an Anbar provincial council member. Army sources said two senior officers were among the dead.