Syrian army 'captures' final rebel stronghold near Qusair

The last rebel stronghold near the strategic town of Qusair, western Syria, has fallen to government forces, Syrian state TV says. Eastern Bouweida village, which lies between Qusair and the restive city of Homs was captured by troops backed by militants from Lebanon's Hezbollah. The Syrian army regained control of the town of Qusair on Wednesday after weeks of intense fighting with rebel forces. The rebels have now lost a key supply route into neighboring Lebanon. "We can now declare Qusair and the surrounding area to be a fully liberated area. We will go after the terrorists wherever they are," an unnamed, senior Syrian army officer told state television on Saturday. The TV report showed shattered buildings and vehicles and weaponry abandoned by fleeing rebels in the village. Activists say that dozens of rebel fighters, including some foreign fighters, have been captured alive in Bouweida, but their fate is not yet known. One question now, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut, is what became of the civilians, the wounded and the fighters who fled there from Qusair, believed to number hundreds of people. What's clear though, he adds, is that the entire area has now come back under government control.