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Syrian rebel groups stormed the National Hospital in Jisr al-Shughur Sunday after a daytime suicide truck bomb attack, as both sides vowed their forces would prevail in the high-stakes standoff, The Daily Star reported.

At least 200 regime troops and civilian officials are believed to be holed up in the complex since rebels seized the town last month, among them high-ranking army officers.

Supporters of the Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, said one of the group’s fighters detonated a massive truck bomb early Sunday to spark the latest round of fighting at the complex.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels entered the hospital’s perimeter and “entered one of the buildings” as fierce clashes raged throughout the day.

Regime aircraft pounded the perimeter of the complex and nearby areas of Idlib province with “at least 33” airstrikes as the fighting raged, it added.

Rami Abdel-Rahman, the director of the Observatory, said at least 39 opposition fighters and “dozens” of regime forces were killed in clashes inside the hospital and also outside Jisr al-Shughur as army troops and paramilitaries advanced in a bid to break the siege.

It was the first time the rebels have managed to penetrate the complex – although the Nusra Front earlier used a suicide truck bomb attack in an unsuccessful bid to break through the hospital building and end the standoff.

Among the 250 people holed up inside are around 150 regime troops, including “high-ranking officers,” as well as family members and some civil servants, according to Abdel-Rahman.