Syrian militants capture government-held areas, dozens dead

BEIRUT – Syrian activists say militants have captured two villages from government forces and their allies in the northern province of Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the four-day offensive by different militant groups, including al-Qaida's branch in Syria, killed 86 troops and pro-government gunmen, including 25 members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, an activists collective, say militants now control the villages of Zeitan and Khalsa south of Aleppo city.

Hezbollah issued a statement in Beirut Saturday saying it lost a number of "martyrs" in "direct and fierce confrontations with terrorist organizations."

Hezbollah has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to back President Bashar Assad's forces and has played a key role in a string of government victories.