Syria military hails advance against rebels in ‘record time’

ALBERT AJI and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria praised its troops Monday for rapidly taking over rebel-controlled territory in the country's northwest, vowing to continue to chase armed groups "wherever they are." Separately, state media reported that Syrian authorities had uncovered the previous day a mass grave containing nearly 70 bodies in eastern Ghouta, an area outside of the capital that rebel fighters lost control of in April 2018. The ongoing military advance in northwest Syria came hours after troops consolidated the government's hold over the key Aleppo province, capturing over 30 villages and hamlets in the western countryside in a single day and securing the provincial capital that had for years remained within range of opposition fire. Sinc