More on those snapped '4th & 5th vertebrae'

[NYTimes] "... Civilians had fled the town, the activist said, acknowledging that the fighting had disrupted rebel supply chains. “We have convoys stopped now because roads have been closed and we can’t use them for the time being.”Another activist, who identified himself as Jamal, called Otaiba a “very essential location.”
In the confusion of battle, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring body based in Britain and reliant on a network of opposition sources inside Syria, said Thursday that government forces had indeed overrun the town late on Wednesday, forcing rebels to try to regroup.
A government victory in the town could prove to be a setback to the rebel effort to amass forces for a thrust closer to Damascus, where government forces remain in control...."