DAMASCUS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army started storming the strategic Abu al-Duhur airbase in the northwestern province of Idlib Saturday, a military source told Xinhua.

The military forces began storming the airbase from its southern rim while other military units are fighting to secure areas in the eastern and southwestern outskirts of the airbase, the source said on condition of anonymity.

He added that intense battles are raging between the Syrian forces and the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee (LLC), otherwise known as the Nusra Front, in the airbase and its surroundings in the southern countryside of Idlib.

Earlier this month, the army was fighting at the outskirts of the airbase and was close to capture it but a major counter-offensive by the militants hindered the advance.

The Syrian forces closed in on the airbase from the southern countryside of Idlib and the nearby southern countryside of Aleppo province, which largely fell to the army following the near defeat of the al-Qaida affiliates in that region recently.

The Syrian army is eyeing the recapture of Abu al-Duhur due to the strategic importance of that facility and its crucial role in launching further offensives against the LLC and likeminded groups in Idlib.

Idlib has emerged as the main destination of the rebel groups, which have evacuated several positions across Syria after surrendering to the Syrian army.

The area has become a home to several rebel groups from different affiliations, some of which are supported by Turkey, while others, such as the Nusra Front, are designated as terrorist groups.