The Syrian army faced enormous causalities while fighting to free some 250 besieged soldiers and civilians loyal to the Assad regime, reports AFP.
Seventy-two Syrian regime soldiers were killed in clashes with militants.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged to free the besieged soldiers and civilians from a hospital complex in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shugur, where they have been hiding from the al-Qaeda and al-Nusra groups.
Among the 250 people holed up inside the complex around 150 are government troops, including numerous "high-ranking officers" and their families, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
At least 40 rebels and 32 government troops were killed in the heavy fighting that erupted inside the complex and with the advancing column.
Rebels seized the town of Jisr al-Shughur on April 25 after having seized Idlib province. .
