The rebels have set their sights on an area where President Bashar al-Assad’s government has long maintained strength.

A group of Syrian journalists headed toward Hama were hit by an airstrike, killing photographer Anas Alkharboutli.

The leader of Syria’s most powerful insurgent group has toured the seized city of Aleppo in a surprise visit, for the first time since the group captured large parts of the city last weekend, as fierce fighting intensifies in the government-led counter-offensive in northern Hama.