Syria's army seized control of the rebel stronghold of Khan Sheikhon in the northern Idlib province on Friday after an assault on the town backed up by helicopters, a spokesman for opposition fighters said.

"The Free (Syrian) Army withdrew from the town last night after it ran out of ammunition, (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad's army is in control of it," said Abu Hamam, a rebel spokesman who fled to a nearby village.

"They are burning the houses. They have burned my own house. I see the smoke covering the sky from where I am now," he added.