Syrian insurgents capture four central towns as government forces reclaim some territory

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian insurgents captured four new towns early Tuesday, bringing them closer to the central city of Hama, opposition activists said, while government forces retook some territory they lost last week.

The capture of the towns is the latest in the push by insurgents led by the salafi jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as well as Turkey-backed opposition fighters. Insurgents now are about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Hama, the country’s fourth largest city.

The latest push is part of a wide offensive by forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad that over the past days has captured large parts of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, as well as towns and villages in southern parts of the northwestern Idlib province.

The insurgents’ military operations administration said gunmen killed 50 government forces as they captured the central towns of Halfaya, Taybat al-Imam, Maardis and Soran. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, confirmed that the towns were taken.

The pro-government Dama Post media outlet reported intense clashes in an around the towns, adding that Syrian troops are firing artillery shells at insurgents in the area. State media reported intense airstrikes by Syrian and Russian air forces in the area.

Both the Observatory and pro-government media outlets reported that Syrian government forces on Tuesday captured the village of Khanaser, days after losing it. Khanaser sits on one of the roads that lead to Aleppo.

The long war between Assad and his foreign backers and the array of armed opposition forces seeking his overthrow has killed an estimated half-million people over the past 13 years.

To the east, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement that they captured seven villages from pro-government fighters. Syrian state media, however, denied that the villages were captured by the U.S.-backed SDF saying that the attack was repelled.

The villages are close to a base housing U.S. troops in the area that is close to Iraq.

Also Tuesday, Hakan Fidan, the foreign minister of Turkey, which is a main backer of groups opposed to Assad, said the recent rapid advance by insurgents in Syria shows that the Syrian president must reconcile with his own people and hold talks with the opposition.

Assad and officials in his government say all armed groups in opposition-held parts of Syria are terrorists and has rejected any political solution with them.

Turkey has been seeking to normalize ties with Syria to address security threats from groups affiliated with Kurdish militants along its southern border and to help ensure the safe return of more than 3 million Syrian refugees. Assad has insisted that Turkey’s withdrawal of its military forces from northern Syria be a condition for any normalization between the two countries.