DAMASCUS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Syrian army wrested control over eight villages and towns in the countryside of Hama province in central Syria on Sunday, state news agency SANA reported.
The town of Helfaya, which is a strategic one, is among those captured by the Syrian army during the wide-scale offensive in the northern countryside of Hama, which led to the killing and injury of hundreds of rebels, according to SANA.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels were retreating in northern Hama, adding that hundreds of airstrikes and relentless shelling targeted the rebels to push them to withdraw from areas they had stormed in two attacks they waged in late last year, and this March.
Securing areas in the northern countryside of Hama is crucial for the Syrian army due to the strategic location in central Syria as it protects the vital links between capital Damascus and the central city of Homs toward the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus.
It also enables the Syrian army to reach areas at the entrance of the Raqqa province and the southwestern entrances of Aleppo city.
