Syrian pro-government forces inspect the ground near a damaged building on the outskirts of the city of Hama on September 20, 2014. Syrian troops have regained control of villages near a military air base in the central province of Hama earlier this month, pushing back rebel fighters in the area.
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Syrian government retakes key province from rebels
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Syria's President Bashar al-Assad 16 videos
Syrian pro-government forces inspect the ground near a damaged building on the outskirts of the city of Hama on September 20, 2014. Syrian troops have regained control of villages near a military air base in the central province of Hama earlier this month, pushing back rebel fighters in the area.
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Caption:THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN ON A GOVERNMENT-GUIDED TOUR A flag showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flutters near damaged buildings in Adra northeast of the capital Damascus on September 25, 2014. Syrian government troops recaptured an area of the key rebel-held town Adra used to house workers, after securing the highway and the industrial zone, a security source and monitoring group said. AFP PHOTO / LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Story highlights

Rabia was the last major rebel stronghold in Syria's western province of Latakia

Engineers are now working to clear the area of mines left by retreating rebels, state media report

CNN  — 

Syrian government troops and allied militias regained control of the last major rebel-held stronghold in the western province of Latakia on Sunday, state-run SANA and a UK-based monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that over the last two days, Syria’s military and loyalist militias, backed by Russian airpower, surrounded the rebel-held town of Rabia and took control of the surrounding villages.

Syria’s ‘lost generation’ of girls

Rabia is approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the Turkish border in the province of Latakia – a stronghold of support for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. The province is also home to Hmeymim airbase, a newly expanded airbase being used by Russian jets in support of the regime.

Syrian state media quoted a military source as saying that engineering units were combing the area to deactivate bombs and mines planted by the rebels.

U.S. officials: Russia looking at Syria airfield near Turkey