Syria officials: Power station bombed by insurgents repaired

This photo provided Tuesday, May 21, 2019 by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows smoke rising after Syrian government forces targeted the town of al-Habeet, in Idlib province, Syria. Syrian activists and a rebel spokesman said Wednesday, that opposition fighters have recaptured Kfar Nabuda, a village at the edge of the last rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian government officials say a power station close to the rebels' last stronghold in the country's northwest has been repaired after insurgents bombed the facility the night before, kicking it off line.

Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutly said on Thursday that al-Zara power station was back on and linked up to the national grid.

Station manager Mostafa Shantout says a drone operated by insurgents dropped a number of bombs late on Wednesday on the station, causing huge damage. He didn't elaborate. The comments by both officials were carried by the official state news agency SANA.

Fighting has raged in the last 48 hours in northwestern Syria where insurgents launched a counteroffensive, trying to regain areas they lost to government forces in earlier this month.