Syrian TV says army regains control of strategic border town

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army has regained control of the strategic town of Qusair on the border with Lebanon, Syrian state television said on Wednesday.

Government and rebel forces have been fighting in Qusair for more than two weeks in a two-year-old civil war that has killed more than 80,000. The town is on a cross-border supply route between Lebanon and Syria.

Regional television channel Mayadeen TV showed soldiers sticking Syrian flags with photographs of President Bashar al-Assad on piles of rubble in the streets.

"Our heroic armed forces have returned security and stability to all of the town of Qusair," a statement carried by Syrian state television said.

A rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera television that rebel forces had lost territory but were still fighting in Qusair.

One Hezbollah fighter told Reuters, "We did a sudden surprise attack in the early hours and entered the town, they escaped," he said.

(Reporting by Erika Solomon; additional reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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