DAMASCUS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 airstrikes targeted rebel positions in northern Syria on Thursday, as part of an ongoing military showdown between the Syrian army and the rebel groups, a war monitor reported.
The airstrikes targeted areas in the northern countryside of Hama Province and the nearby southern countryside of Idlib Province, killing six people, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The shelling comes after the Syrian forces lost the town of Kafr Nabudah in northern Hama to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, the London-based watchdog added.
The army recently captured the key town which links several rebel-held areas together, before losing it to the HTS on Wednesday.
These areas in the countryside of Hama and Idlib as well as the countryside of Aleppo Province are included in a de-escalation zones' deal established in September 2018 by Russia and Turkey.
The deal didn't materialize as battles have escalated since late last month.
