alwaght - Fighting between Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), official Qaeda affiliate in Syria, and Western-backed rebels in northern Syria spread from Aleppo province into neighboring Idlib on Friday, Reuters reported .
Clashes began on Thursday JN seized positions from the Hazzm movement west of Aleppo, threatening one of the few remaining pockets of the non-jihadist insurgency .
A Hazzm official said by telephone clashes had spread to Idlib and that his group had retaken some areas previously controlled by JN .
"There is now fighting in Idlib, in the Jabal al-Zawiya area," he said. He said in Aleppo province the two groups were also fighting in Atarib, a town 20 km (12 miles) from the Turkish border .
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy fighting overnight focused on the Regiment 46 base in western Aleppo and overlapping areas between Aleppo and Idlib province, where the JN pushed out rebels from many areas in October .
The Observatory, which monitors the war, said Hazzm had captured some small checkpoints in Idlib .
Hazzm is one of the last remnants of non-jihadist opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in northern Syria, much of which has been seized by the JN and ISIS.
