BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels advanced to within a few kilometers of the government-held city of Hama on Wednesday in a major assault in the western region of Syria critically important to President Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor reported.

A still image taken from a video uploaded on social media on March 22, 2017, purports to show Tahrir al-Sham rebel fighters on tanks, said to be in Soran district, near Hama, Syria. Social Media Website via Reuters TV

The offensive, spearheaded by Islamist militants, was launched on Tuesday after an attack in the capital Damascus, where heavy fighting persists, showing the lingering threat posed by rebels even as Assad enjoys the military upper hand.

The Hama offensive also includes Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels who had agreed to a truce in December brokered by Russia and Turkey, underlining the bleak prospects for U.N.-backed peace talks that are due to reconvene in Geneva on Thursday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the latest rebel advance on Hama. The Syrian army could not immediately be reached for comment.

A Syrian military source told Reuters the army was sending reinforcements against the rebel thrust, adding that the insurgents had mobilized large numbers for the assault.

A rebel commander told pro-opposition Orient TV that insurgents planned to open yet more fronts.

The Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, said insurgents had captured the towns of Soran, 20 km (12 miles) north of Hama, Khattab, 10 km northwest of Hama, and al-Majdal, 6 km west of Khattab.

The assault on Soran began on Tuesday with two suicide bombers being deployed in addition to rockets and artillery.

The areas of Hama province targeted in the latest assault form part of Syria’s pivotal western region where Assad has shored up his rule during the six-year-long war with crucial military support from Russia and Iran.

“There are fierce battles between the two sides,” the military source said.

The attack is being led by Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of Islamist factions dominated by a group that was formerly al Qaeda’s official affiliate in the Syrian war.

“The battle - praise God - has been prepared for a long time and all capacities have been prepared for it so that we can wage a long battle,” an FSA commander identified as a lieutenant in the Ezza Army group told Orient TV.

The rebels have been on the backfoot since Russia deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to bolster Assad. They suffered their worst setback of the six-year war in December when government forces seized eastern Aleppo from the opposition.

Syrian government forces, supported by Iranian-backed militias, have been pressing their military edge despite the December truce, winning back more areas including one near Damascus that is the source of the capital’s water supply.

DAMASCUS ASSAULT

The escalation in Hama province follows two rebel assaults on government-held areas in Jobar in Damascus, launched by opposition fighters from Eastern Ghouta, an opposition stronghold east of the capital.

State media said on Wednesday the army was waging fierce clashes with insurgents in northern Jobar and that the air force was pounding insurgents and their supply lines in the area.

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The Ezza Army commander said the rebel attack in Hama was coordinated with the one in Damascus. He also said that more attacks would be launched “in a number of other areas”.

The increase in fighting between the rebels and the army came in the run-up to new peace talks in Geneva.

But the obstacles facing peacemaking were on display last week when Turkey-backed rebel groups shunned talks in Kazakhstan aimed at firming up the December ceasefire and criticized Russia for failing to get its allies to adhere to the truce.</s>A view shows an empty street near the Abbasiyin area in the east of the capital Damascus, in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 20, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels stormed a government-held area in northeastern Damascus on Tuesday for the second time in three days, sources on both sides said, the opposition's first such large scale foray in over four years inside the capital.

For rebels, the assault has shown they are still able to wage offensive action, though their situation remains very difficult near Damascus and across the country as a whole.

President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian army, along with allied Russian, Iranian and Shi'ite militia forces, have gained the upper hand in the war for western Syria over the past 18 months, culminating in the full recapture of Aleppo in December.

Witnesses in Damascus said several rockets were fired into central, government-held parts of the city by rebels and state media reported that the army had conducted numerous air and artillery strikes against insurgents.

The spokesman for one of the main insurgent groups involved in the attack told Reuters new offensive began at 5.00 a.m., targeting an area rebel fighters had seized from government control on Sunday before being forced to retreat.

A Syrian military source told Reuters rebel fighters had entered the area, setting off a car bomb at the start of the attack. The source said a group of rebels that had entered the area had been encircled and were "being dealt with".

The rebel groups have launched the assault from their Eastern Ghouta stronghold to the east of the capital. Government forces have escalated military operations against Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks, seeking to tighten a siege on the area. The rebel assault aims partly to relieve that pressure.

The fighting has focused around the Abassiyin area of the northeastern Jobar district, some 2 km east of the Old City walls, at a major road junction leading into the capital.

A witness in the Tijara residential area near the fighting said dozens of tanks were deployed - an unusual scene for residents of inner Damascus, whose quarters been spared the widespread fighting on the fringes of the sprawling city.

Wael Alwan, spokesman for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group Failaq al Rahman, said: "We launched the new offensive and we restored all the points we withdrew from on Monday."

He said the attack strengthened the hand of the mainstream opposition ahead of new peace talks in Geneva on Thursday. "Our gains today will give strength to our presence in Geneva after tomorrow," he added.

Another rebel official heading to Geneva said the attack showed the limitations of Russia's extensive military support.

"This is a military and political message to Russia that the regime is weak and has no full control and is unable to decisively tilt the balance in its favor militarily," Issam al Rayess, a spokesman for the FSA's Southern Front alliance of Western and Arab backed rebel groups.

The Syrian military source said: "They entered a narrow pocket - the same area of the (previous) breach - and now this group is being dealt with."

State media said rebels who infiltrated the city and Jobar had fled with scores arrested or killed but gave no details.

State television played what it said was footage taken on Tuesday morning on Faris al-Khouri street, which runs toward the Abbasiyin garages, and showed thick dark smoke rising in the distance.

The government says the attack is being carried out by fighters of the Nusra Front, a jihadist group that was al Qaeda's official affiliate in the Syrian war until it declared they had broken off ties last year. The Nusra Front is now part of an Islamist alliance called Tahrir al-Sham.

The attack has relieved pressure on rebels who have lost ground in the nearby areas of Qaboun and Barza, where the army says rebels have constructed an elaborate network of tunnels that provide essential goods that have for years helped Eastern Ghouta withstand a tough siege.

A rebel commander said the Syrian army was intensifying its shelling on areas where they had advanced in Jobar and towns across Eastern Ghouta. "There is no place that has not been hit," said Abu Abdo a field commander from Failaq al Rahman brigade.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said at least 143 air raids were conducted by the Syrian army on rebel held eastern parts of Damascus, mostly targeting Jobar, since the rebels launched their offensive.</s>Syrian rebels stormed a government-held area in northeastern Damascus on Tuesday for the second time in three days, sources on both sides of the fighting said, in the opposition’s first such large scale foray in over four years in the capital.

For rebels, the assault has shown they are still able to wage offensive action, though their situation remains very difficult near Damascus and across the country as a whole.

Separately, an alliance of rebel groups said on Tuesday it had launched a new offensive near the city of Hama in the central part of western Syria.

President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian army, along with allied Russian, Iranian and Shi’ite militia forces, have gained the upper hand in the war for western Syria over the past 18 months, culminating in the full recapture of Aleppo in December.

Witnesses in Damascus said several rockets were fired into central, government-held parts of the city by rebels and state media reported that the army had conducted numerous air and artillery strikes against insurgents.

The spokesman for one of the main insurgent groups involved in the attack told Reuters new offensive began at 5.00 a.m., targeting an area rebel fighters had seized from government control on Sunday before being forced to retreat.

A Syrian military source told Reuters rebel fighters had entered the area, setting off a car bomb at the start of the attack. The source said a group of rebels that had entered the area had been encircled and were “being dealt with.”

The rebel groups have launched the assault from their Eastern Ghouta stronghold to the east of the capital. Government forces have escalated military operations against Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks, seeking to tighten a siege on the area. The rebel assault aims partly to relieve that pressure.

The fighting has focused around the Abassiyin area of the northeastern Jobar district, some 2 km east of the Old City walls, at a major road junction leading into the capital.

A witness in the Tijara residential area near the fighting said dozens of tanks were deployed – an unusual scene for residents of inner Damascus, whose quarters been spared the widespread fighting on the fringes of the sprawling city.

North of Hama, jihadist rebel groups said they had launched a new offensive which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said had made a considerable advance and seized points inside the towns of Soran and Maardas.

A military media unit run by Hezbollah said that fighting continued in the towns.

Wael Alwan, spokesman for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group Failaq al Rahman, said: “We launched the new offensive and we restored all the points we withdrew from on Monday.”

He said the attack strengthened the hand of the mainstream opposition ahead of new peace talks in Geneva on Thursday. “Our gains today will give strength to our presence in Geneva after tomorrow,” he added.

Another rebel official heading to Geneva said the attack showed the limitations of Russia’s extensive military support.

“This is a military and political message to Russia that the regime is weak and has no full control and is unable to decisively tilt the balance in its favor militarily,” Issam al Rayess, a spokesman for the FSA’s Southern Front alliance of Western and Arab backed rebel groups.

The Syrian military source said: “They entered a narrow pocket – the same area of the (previous) breach – and now this group is being dealt with.”

State media said rebels who infiltrated the city and Jobar had fled with scores arrested or killed but gave no details.

State television played what it said was footage taken on Tuesday morning on Faris al-Khouri street, which runs towards the Abbasiyin garages, and showed thick dark smoke rising in the distance.

The government says the attack is being carried out by fighters of the Nusra Front, a jihadist group that was al Qaeda’s official affiliate in the Syrian war until it declared they had broken off ties last year. The Nusra Front is now part of an Islamist alliance called Tahrir al-Sham.

The attack has relieved pressure on rebels who have lost ground in the nearby areas of Qaboun and Barza, where the army says rebels have constructed an elaborate network of tunnels that provide essential goods that have for years helped Eastern Ghouta withstand a tough siege.

A rebel commander said the Syrian army was intensifying its shelling on areas where they had advanced in Jobar and towns across Eastern Ghouta. “There is no place that has not been hit,” said Abu Abdo a field commander from Failaq al Rahman brigade.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said at least 143 air raids were conducted by the Syrian army on rebel held eastern parts of Damascus, mostly targeting Jobar, since the rebels launched their offensive.</s>Syrian rebels stormed a government-held area in northeastern Damascus on Tuesday for the second time in three days, sources on both sides of the fighting said, in the opposition’s first such large scale foray in over four years in the capital.

For rebels, the assault has shown they are still able to wage offensive action, though their situation remains very difficult near Damascus and across the country as a whole.

Separately, an alliance of rebel groups said on Tuesday it had launched a new offensive near the city of Hama in the central part of western Syria.

President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian army, along with allied Russian, Iranian and Shi’ite militia forces, have gained the upper hand in the war for western Syria over the past 18 months, culminating in the full recapture of Aleppo in December.

Witnesses in Damascus said several rockets were fired into central, government-held parts of the city by rebels and state media reported that the army had conducted numerous air and artillery strikes against insurgents.

The spokesman for one of the main insurgent groups involved in the attack told Reuters new offensive began at 5.00 a.m., targeting an area rebel fighters had seized from government control on Sunday before being forced to retreat.

A Syrian military source told Reuters rebel fighters had entered the area, setting off a car bomb at the start of the attack. The source said a group of rebels that had entered the area had been encircled and were “being dealt with.”

The rebel groups have launched the assault from their Eastern Ghouta stronghold to the east of the capital. Government forces have escalated military operations against Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks, seeking to tighten a siege on the area. The rebel assault aims partly to relieve that pressure.

The fighting has focused around the Abassiyin area of the northeastern Jobar district, some 2 km east of the Old City walls, at a major road junction leading into the capital.

A witness in the Tijara residential area near the fighting said dozens of tanks were deployed – an unusual scene for residents of inner Damascus, whose quarters been spared the widespread fighting on the fringes of the sprawling city.

North of Hama, jihadist rebel groups said they had launched a new offensive which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said had made a considerable advance and seized points inside the towns of Soran and Maardas.

A military media unit run by Hezbollah said that fighting continued in the towns.

Wael Alwan, spokesman for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group Failaq al Rahman, said: “We launched the new offensive and we restored all the points we withdrew from on Monday.”

He said the attack strengthened the hand of the mainstream opposition ahead of new peace talks in Geneva on Thursday. “Our gains today will give strength to our presence in Geneva after tomorrow,” he added.

Another rebel official heading to Geneva said the attack showed the limitations of Russia’s extensive military support.

“This is a military and political message to Russia that the regime is weak and has no full control and is unable to decisively tilt the balance in its favor militarily,” Issam al Rayess, a spokesman for the FSA’s Southern Front alliance of Western and Arab backed rebel groups.

The Syrian military source said: “They entered a narrow pocket – the same area of the (previous) breach – and now this group is being dealt with.”

State media said rebels who infiltrated the city and Jobar had fled with scores arrested or killed but gave no details.

State television played what it said was footage taken on Tuesday morning on Faris al-Khouri street, which runs towards the Abbasiyin garages, and showed thick dark smoke rising in the distance.

The government says the attack is being carried out by fighters of the Nusra Front, a jihadist group that was al Qaeda’s official affiliate in the Syrian war until it declared they had broken off ties last year. The Nusra Front is now part of an Islamist alliance called Tahrir al-Sham.

The attack has relieved pressure on rebels who have lost ground in the nearby areas of Qaboun and Barza, where the army says rebels have constructed an elaborate network of tunnels that provide essential goods that have for years helped Eastern Ghouta withstand a tough siege.

A rebel commander said the Syrian army was intensifying its shelling on areas where they had advanced in Jobar and towns across Eastern Ghouta. “There is no place that has not been hit,” said Abu Abdo a field commander from Failaq al Rahman brigade.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said at least 143 air raids were conducted by the Syrian army on rebel held eastern parts of Damascus, mostly targeting Jobar, since the rebels launched their offensive.</s>BEIRUT: Syrian rebels including a powerful alliance of jihadist groups said they launched a new offensive near the city of Hama in the central part of western Syria on Tuesday.

The rebels attacked government positions in the town of Soran and the village of Maardas, gaining control over parts of them, a monitor of Syria's civil war said.

Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of Syrian jihadist rebel groups, said on a social media feed that it had carried out two suicide car bomb attacks close to Soran in the countryside north of Hama at the start of the assault.

"The battle of Hama has begun, God be thanked," the group said in a posting on a Telegram channel it uses.

A military media unit run by Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian government, said that the army was fighting rebels who attacked its positions north of Hama after detonating a bomb.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said there had been big explosions heard in that area and that there were intense clashes between the army on one side and Tahrir al-Sham and some other jihadist groups on the other.

The rebels gained control over several positions in the area around Soran and in Maardas just south of it, the Observatory said. The Hezbollah military media unit said the rebels had not gained control over either Soran or Maardas.

Rebels including hardline Islamist groups that joined to form Tahrir al-Sham staged an offensive in northern Hama last year that led to territorial advances in the area near Soran.

Tahrir al-Sham includes the former Nusra Front group, which officially designated itself as the Syrian branch of al Qaeda until last year, when it ended its formal allegiance to the global jihadist organisation.

The Syrian army regained Soran last October, according to a military source and war monitor, as part of a counter-attack against insurgents that had lasted for weeks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian, Iranian and Shi'ite Muslim militia allies have put mainly Sunni Muslim rebels fighting to oust him on the back foot over the past 18 months with a string of military victories.

Rebel groups including Tahrir al-Sham launched a new assault on Monday near central districts of Damascus, where fierce fighting continues amid heavy bombardment.</s>Syrian jihadists and allied rebels seized a key town from government forces on Tuesday in a new offensive in the central province of Hama, a monitor and fighting factions said.

The surprise offensive was announced Tuesday by the Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is dominated by the jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front, once linked to Al-Qaeda.

"This afternoon, Tahrir al-Sham began preparing for military operations against (regime) army positions in Hama province," said Tahrir al-Sham press officer Imad al-Din Mujahid.

Tahrir al-Sham published photos of a massive explosion that it said was a suicide attack against a government checkpoint inside Suran.

Hama province is of strategic importance to President Bashar al-Assad, separating opposition forces in Idlib from Damascus to the south and the regime's coastal heartlands to the west.

"Tahrir al-Sham detonated two car bombs as they stormed the town of Suran and other villages," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The British-based monitor said the jihadists and rebel groups seized Suran and eight surrounding checkpoints within hours, despite heavy air strikes by government warplanes.

The town has exchanged hands several times in Syria's six-year conflict, with government forces recapturing it in late October from opposition factions.

The Free Idlib Army, which is taking part in the offensive, said it targeted the Hama military airport and other government positions on Tuesday.

Rebel groups and Tahrir al-Sham were also waging an offensive in Syrian capital on Tuesday in a bid to link two neighbourhoods they control in Damascus.

The violence comes two days before UN-brokered peace talks are set to resume in Switzerland between government officials and opposition representatives.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests against Assad's rule, but has evolved over the years into a complex civil war.

More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.</s>BEIRUT, March 21 (Reuters) - Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of Syrian jihadist rebel groups, said on Tuesday it was launching a new offensive near the city of Hama in the central part of western Syria.

The group said on a social media feed that it had carried out two suicide car bomb attacks close to the town of Soran in the countryside north of Hama.

"The battle of Hama has begun, God be thanked," the group said in a posting on a Telegram channel it uses.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said there had been big explosions heard in that area and that there were intense clashes between the army on one side and Tahrir al-Sham and some other jihadist groups on the other.

The jihadists gained control over several positions in the area around Soran and in a village just south of it called Maardas, the Observatory said.

Rebels including hardline Islamist groups that joined to form Tahrir al-Sham staged an offensive in northern Hama last year that led to territorial advances in the area near Soran.

Tahrir al-Sham includes the former Nusra Front group, which officially designated itself as the Syrian branch of al Qaeda until last year, when it ended its formal allegiance to the global jihadist organisation.

The Syrian army regained the town last October, according to a military source and war monitor, as part of a push back against insurgents that had lasted for weeks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian, Iranian and Shi'ite militia allies have put rebels fighting to oust him on the back foot over the past 18 months with a string of military victories.

Rebel groups including Tahrir al-Sham launched a new assault on Monday near to central parts of Damascus, where fierce fighting continues amid heavy bombardment. (Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Julia Glover)</s>Syrian jihadists and allied rebels advanced against government forces in central Hama province on Thursday, March 23, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said

The Britain-based group said the jihadists and allied fighters have taken 11 towns and villages from government troops since they began the surprise offensive on Tuesday.

It reported heavy fighting in the north and northeast of the province, with government air strikes targeting areas captured in recent days.

Overnight and into this morning, three villages fell from government control, with the advancing forces nearing the town of Maan.

Syrian government forces seized Maan in 2014, after Islamist fighters killed at least 25 members of the Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

Hama province is of strategic importance to Assad’s government, separating opposition forces in Idlib from Damascus to the south and the regime’s coastal heartlands to the west.

The offensive is being spearheaded by the Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is dominated by jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

In addition to 11 villages and towns, rebels and jihadists have captured several government checkpoints and part of the road between provincial capital Hama and the town of Mhardeh, the Observatory said.

The monitor said the opposition forces were now around four kilometres (2.5 miles) from government-held Hama city.

An AFP correspondent in northern Hama said government war planes were circling overhead and carrying out strikes on areas captured during the offensive.

He said the sound of fighting could be heard even at a distance, and small groups of people could be seen fleeing the

 violence, most of them travelling in cars.

Aid group Save the Children said Wednesday at least 10,000 people had fled their homes in the Hama area in the past 24 hours.

The violence comes as UN-brokered peace talks are set to resume in Switzerland between government officials and opposition representatives.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>Last evening, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Jaish al-Izzah, Jaish al-Nasr, Jaish idlib al-Hur, Ajnad al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic party and other militant groups launched a large advance on the government-held town of Suran in the northern part of the province of Hama. The militants used two suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices to break government defenses and to enter Suran and Rahbet Khattab. By March 22, the joint militant forces have seized Souran, the the Rahbet Khattab army base, the town of Khattab and launched an attempt to cut the Ma'ardas-Hama road. The Syrian military lost at least 2 battle tanks. Government forces sent reinforcements to the area.The militant advance in northern Hama came amid an intense fighting in the Qabun industrial area in the eastern countryside of Damascus where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Faylaq al-Rahman and Ahrar al-Sham were attempting to link up Qabun with the Eastern Ghouta region. Jaish al-Islam, which was involved in the Astana peace talks, also announced an official support to the militant advance.On Tuesday, the joint militant forces launched the second attempt to seize this important industrial zone from government forces but failed to achieve significant gains. Multiple airstrikes and artillery strikes played an important role in preventing further advances of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and its allies. The main clashes are now taking place in the Fabric Factory which had been captured by militants.The developments in eastern Damascus and northern Hama where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and its allies had launched wide-scale operations against government forces clearly showed that the militants and their foreign sponsors were not interested in a peace process in Syria and used the time of the nationwide ceasefire to regroup and resupply its forces and prepare for further operations across Syria.The Free Syrian Army's Ahmad Abdo Forces, Faylaq al-Rahman and Jaish al-Islam have made significant gains against ISIS terrorists in eastern Qalamoun in the Rif Dimashq province. Their joint forces captured, Jabal al-Naqab, Jabal al-Sharqi, Bir al-Afa'i and the nearby areas. The Ahmad Abdo Forces, Jaish al-Islam and other successfully used the deep involvement of ISIS on other frontlines to achieve own goals in the area.Government forces liberated the villages of Jafrah, Jannat al-Salamah, Jafar Mansour and Kharayih Diham in the Deir Hafer countryside in the province of Aleppo. Thus, the Syrian army and its allies got a fire control over the only highway which links up Deir Hafer with the rest of the ISIS-held area in the province. However, the control of Jafrah is not enough to keep the highway under the full control. Government troops will need to capture Abu Maqbarah As-Sagirah to cut off the road physically.In the province of Raqqah, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly consisting of Kurdish units, seized the town of Hamad Assaf which had been controlled by ISIS. Hamad Assaf is located in about 40 km east of Raqqah.</s>DAMASCUS, SYRIA (9:45 P.MP) – A coalition of jihadi groups has overrun the government forces in the northern countryside of Hama, making huge gains and posing a serious threat for the provincial capital

Led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – formerly known as Jabhet al-Nusra, the ultraconservative militants launched their full-scale offensive yesterday on several positions for the Syrian Army and local fighters.

The 24-hour battle has yielded well for the jihadists as they managed to take over several towns and villages including Soran and Khattab.

Hours earlier, the media wing of HTS reported that its fighters stormed Ma’ardis after a suicide bomber detonated his BVIED inside the village.

Scores of government troops – including officers – have been reported dead during the battles.

The insurgents expanded their assault and attacked the predominantly-Christian city of Mahardah, shelling it with mortar shells and homegrown rockets and cutting off the road linking it to the provincial capital.

Reports came in that jihadi rebels massacred up to 30 civilians – mostly women and children – in the Alawite-populated village of Majdal.

In May 2017, insurgents killed 19 civilians after capturing the predominantly Alwaite village of al-Zara located in the western countryside of Homs.
Syrian rebels, led by Tahrir al-Sham, launch an offensive in the Hama Governorate, capturing the towns of Suran, Khitab and Al-Majdal.