DAMASCUS, Syria -- Members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other Syrian rebel factions launched simultaneous attacks on army checkpoints, police headquarters and the governor's office in northwestern Syria on Monday, triggering hours-long clashes that left 35 troops and rebels dead.
The attacks all took place in the city of Idlib, activists and state media reported. The city, which is controlled by the Syrian government, is the local capital of Idlib province. Monday's attacks were the most serious there since Syrian rebels took control of scores of villages and towns around it more than two years ago.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Nusra Front and other groups shelled Idlib and simultaneously attacked army checkpoints there. It said four Nusra Front members blew themselves up inside the city, targeting checkpoints and causing casualties among the troops.
"It was a moral blow to the regime," said activist Asad Kanjo, based in the town of Saraqeb, also in Idlib province. He added that calm had later been restored in the city.
Syria's pro-government Al-Ikhbariya TV cited the provincial police chief, who was not named, as saying the attackers took advantage of a power cut before dawn to hit the checkpoints and the governor's office. He added that troops repelled the attackers.
"There isn't one gunman in the city now," said the police chief.
The Observatory said the rebels were helped by some policemen who were protecting the police command and the governor's office. The buildings were retaken later by government troops.
Another activist in Idlib province, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said most of the attacks took place on the southern edge of the city, near Mastoumeh Hill.
The Observatory said the hill was captured by rebels, which prompted Syrian helicopter gunships to target the site. It said 15 rebels and 20 soldiers were killed at the hill.
Syrian state TV said government forces repelled the attack on Idlib and that a "large number of terrorists" were killed. The government refers to the rebels as terrorists.
In the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, a car bomb exploded near a hospital run by the Islamic State group, killing four people -- including a child -- and wounding others, the Observatory said. The explosion in the town of Mayadeen caused material damage to the hospital and nearby homes.
Syrian state TV said the blast in Mayadeen occurred outside a medical center run by the Islamic State. The channel said there are reports of 20 people killed in the blast.
The state channel and the Observatory gave no further details.
The Islamic State group controls wide areas of the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province, where some tribesmen rose against the extremist group but were quickly crushed.
In Kobani, where the Islamic State and Syrian Kurdish fighters are battling for control of the strategic border town, an Associated Press journalist on the Turkish side of the border said there was intense fighting in the town Monday. Sporadic explosions and occasional cracks of gunfire could be heard from a distance.
In neighboring Lebanon, the army on Monday asked Islamic militants in the northern city of Tripoli and nearby areas to surrender as calm returned after four days of clashes that killed more than 20 people.
Lebanese troops entered the militants' stronghold of Bab Tabbaneh, the area that witnessed some of the worst clashes. The army said troops detained some of the gunmen while others fled.
A battle between Lebanese troops and Muslim militants in northern Lebanon was widely expected after members of the Islamic State and the Nusra Front launched several attacks over the past weeks in areas on the border with Syria.
Lebanese security officials said the fighting that began Friday killed 12 soldiers and 10 civilians and wounded 92 soldiers and 63 civilians. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
There were no casualty figures for the militants.
U.S. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said the U.S. supports Lebanese forces fighting militants there and praised what she called a "strong stand" against the threat the groups pose.
"We condemn those who seek to sow chaos in Lebanon and are confident that the Lebanese people will persevere if they stand united in the face of this threat," Psaki said Monday.
"The army and the state security institutions alone have the legitimate role of defending Lebanon, under the direction of the government."
Information for this article was contributed by Elena Becatoros, Bilal Hussein and Lara Jakes of The Associated Press.
A Section on 10/28/2014