On the outskirts of the main city of Hama, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s soldiers are allegedly fighting fiercely with rebels.
The Islamist militant organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its supporters were reportedly “at the gates of Hama” on Tuesday night, according to a monitoring group. However, on Wednesday, the military retook a number of villages in a counteroffensive supported by heavy airstrikes.
The rebels denied losing any land north of the city, although Syrian official media reportedly said that army had driven them back.
Aleppo, which the rebels took last week after mounting a surprise onslaught from their stronghold in the northwest, is located 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Hama.
