BEIRUT:

Syrian government forces captured two northwestern villages in an intensified offensive on the last rebel-held part of the country, inching closer to the town of Kfar Zeita which has been held by insurgents since 2012, opposition activists and state media reported Wednesday.

Meanwhile, neighboring Turkey reiterated threats to attack northeastern Syria to push back US-allied Syrian Kurdish forces there – even as Turkish and US officials held in Ankara on establishing a so-called “safe zone” within Syria. (AP)