Free Syrian Army unit said Monday it had killed at least 25 regime troops and allied militants near Helfaya, the strategic town in Hama province that fell to regime favor the day before.
Jaish al-Izza targeted regime bastions and checkpoints with heavy artillery and Grad rockets, killing and wounding dozens the FSA group said.
On Sunday, rebels withdrawn from Helfaya town in northwestern Hama province after cutting off the supply routes by regime forces and allied Shiite militias.
The week-long heavy clashes in the northern countryside ended with the fall of Helfaya, Soran and parts of Taybet al-Imam towns to favor of regime forces.
Helfaya capture, which rebels had seized only last month, come after of targeting the town with 369 airstrikes and 45 Surface-to-Surface missiles, 880 Grad rockets and 508 artillery shells, according to the activist.
The regime forces that advanced into the strategic town of Taybet al-Imam on Thursday still face fierce resistance by rebels who were able to halt its advance in the town, which lies 18 km (11 miles) north of Hama city.
The army has its eyes now set on the town of Morek, the next town after Soran and Taybet al-Imam going north on the highway crucial to control of western Syria
