Protesters carry Nusra Front flags and shout slogans during an anti-government protest after Friday prayers in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria, March 11, 2016.

Activists say al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch and other insurgents have captured a strategic overlook from government forces south of Aleppo after weeks of government air raids, in fighting that could unravel a month-old ceasefire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, along with other militants as well as more moderate factions, captured the village of Tel el-Ais early Saturday.

The village overlooks a vital highway connecting Aleppo with the capital, Damascus.

The Nusra Front boasted of its offensive on social media, posting videos showing mortars and tanks firing on what is said to be government positions. Syria’[s state news agency acknowledged fierce clashes in the area.

Both the Nusra Front and ISIS are excluded from the ceasefire that began in late February.

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