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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Syrian rebels, led by Tahrir al-Sham, launch an offensive in the Hama Governorate, capturing the towns of Suran, Khitab and Al-Majdal.