Syrian troops and their allies, backed by Russian aircraft, attacked rebel-held towns north of the city of Homs on Thursday, Reuters reports with reference to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The head of the monitoring center, Rami Abdurakhman, said two civilians and six insurgents had been already killed.
The army operations include a campaign to recapture rebel-held land in Hama, Idlib and Latakia provinces in the northwest. Regional officials told Reuters that the army is preparing for a ground operation around Aleppo city. Thousands of the Hezbollah group's fighters and Iranians arrived for this purpose.
