Syrian rebels capture village in northwest

BEIRUT – Activists say that Syrian rebels have captured a village in northwestern Syria after heavy fighting with government troops.

The anti-government Local Coordination Committees activist group says the rebels seized the village of Tel Meleh in Hama province Sunday, killing "large numbers" of President Bashar Assad's forces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 18 pro-government troops and two rebels were killed in the fighting in Tel Meleh.

Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman says the village has changed hands several times over the course of the Syrian conflict, now in its fourth year.