Free Syrian Army on Monday killed 9 fighters loyal to Bashar al-Assad in the southern countryside oif Hama province, rebel commander told Zaman a-Wasl.
10 more militants were wounded in the surprise attack on checkpoints near Salamiya town. Rebel said they had seized control of 6 checkpoints and Dallak and al-Mzairaa villages.
In its turn, the regime army regained the strategic town of Soran near the city of Hama on Sunday with an assault backed by heavy Russian air strikes, rebels and residents said.
Most of the rebels had retreated from the town after troops stormed it following dozens of strikes by jets believed to be Russian since dawn, including so-called parachute bombs that also targeted other towns in the area, including Latamneh and Kafr Zeita.
"There was hysterical bombing that targeted the town and the whole area and rebels fought fierce battles until they were forced to pull out," said one rebel, a member of the Jaish al Izza group, which has a strong presence in Hama province who requested anonymity.
The regime army was aided by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias who had supported the over-stretched government forces, rebels say.
The stronghold of Soran is the army's northern gateway to the city of Hama, the provincial capital. It had been captured by the army last year, then lost in the latest rebel offensive.
The army's advance into Soran rolls back most of the territorial gains made by rebels, who include jihadist groups, after a major offensive last month in northern Hama province in the center of the populated west of the country.
In retaliation, FSA has pounded strategic military airport of Hama city with more than 40 Grad rockets.
Hama military airport is not operating due to heavy surface-to-surface rockets attack, source told Zaman al-Wasl.
Videos downloaded on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from a distance.
Jaish al-Naser, key moderate rebel group operating in northern Hama countryside, adopted the attack, that pushed regime and Russia to deport advanced helicopters to Shayrat airfield in central Homs province.
Also, FSA factions recaptured ground lost to favor of regime forces this week near Helfaya town, field sources said.
Meanwhile, rebels still hold the strategic town of Morek, north of Hama city. It lies on a major north-south highway crucial to control of western Syria.
