Syrian army helicopters bombed the rebel-held town of Qalat al-Madiq in the western countryside of Hama city, killing 11 civilians, including seven women and a child, the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported.
In a relevant development, US-led coalition air strikes killed eight people, including four Nusra Front fighters, in the northern province of Idleb, activists said.
The joint task force overseeing the air strikes has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted Nusra Front members in Kafr Hend village near Salqeen.
Meanwhile, the Islamist rebel alliance of Jaish al-Fatah made rapid gains in the western countryside of Idleb and nearby Sahl al-Ghab plain in Hama province, taking control of 12 hills and villages and inflicting humiliating defeats on the Syrian regime army, activists and rebel sources said.
