Syria's Islamist rebels won a pivotal victory March 28 . Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and their smaller allies seized the western city of Idlib after a four-day offensive. The groups used multiple vehicle-borne improvised explosives to target key parts of the city's outer ring of defenses manned by loyalist forces. The attackers then carried out multi-directional attacks to exploit the gaps the bombings created in the loyalists' positions. They punched deep through two belts of defenses around the city before the loyalist forces could successfully respond and re-establish their defensive lines. The rebels are still conducting operations to eliminate the remaining pro-government forces, but the major fighting is finished — the Islamist rebels now control the city. Idlib is the capital and largest city in the northwestern province of the same name.