BEIRUT: Syrian jihadists and allied rebels advanced against government forces in central Hama province on Thursday, 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. 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 monitor said the opposition forces were now around four kilometers (2.5 miles) from government-held Hama city. An Agence France-Presse correspondent in northern Hama said government war planes were circling overhead and carrying out strikes on areas captured during the offensive.

Source: Manila Times March 23, 2017 08:37 UTC