Syrian Army Captures Key Town in Hama

Local Editor

The Syrian Army captured a central Syrian town that has changed hands several times during the war, the military said Friday.

By retaking the town of Helfaya in Hama province, troops will be better positioned to defend nearby Christian and Alawite communities. Central Syria is a communal patchwork, with large communities of Christians, Ismailis and Alawites.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front is known to be active in Hama province and has been behind attacks in recent weeks on the Christian town of Mhardeh, west of Helfaya.

The army command said that the offensive aims "to wipe out terrorists in northern parts of Hama." It added that "a large number of terrorists were killed in the fighting, many of them foreign fighters."

Rami Abdel-Rahman, the head of the Britain-based so-called "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights", which is known to support the opposition, said Helfaya was captured by the army Thursday.
Pro-opposition media outlets blamed various rebel groups and the Nusra Front for withdrawing from Helfaya in the face of the government offensive.
 
Nusra fighters said their leader, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, had been leading the offensive and gave an emotional speech to rally his fighters as they moved into the area several weeks ago. Abdel-Rahman said the Nusra Front fighters had staged a sudden withdrawal from Helfaya. "In the last week they called in other fighters because they couldn't continue," he said.

The Nusra Front had massed some 1,500 fighters in Helfaya in recent weeks in apparent preparation for an attack on Mhardeh, it added.

The government offensive in Hama province is expected to relieve pressure on the Hama military airport, which in recent weeks has come under bombardment by armed militias.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team