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Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants and other Syrian rebel groups have attacked the government-held city of Idlib, briefly seizing several official buildings, the BBC reported.

The Nusra Front said its fighters killed dozens of government soldiers before being pushed back.

The Syrian government has maintained control of Idlib city in the country's north-west since it was briefly taken over by rebel groups in 2012.

Syria's civil war, in its fourth year, has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

In other developments, a video believed to have been produced by Islamic State (IS) militants purports to show the abducted British journalist John Cantlie in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane.

In the video, Mr Cantlie refers to events from the last fortnight, including a US air drop of weapons and ammunition intended for Kurdish fighters in Kobane.

The US has been carrying out air strikes on Kobane to help Syrian Kurdish forces repel an IS advance.

Intense fighting has been reported in and around the town, which is close to the Turkish border.