By Syrian rebel forces were on Wednesday within six miles of the central city of Hama, a city freighted with past horrors for antigovernment forces.
Syria’s fourth-largest city might represent an even more significant fillip than the sudden capture last week of Aleppo — the country’s most populous city — in the war’s most significant offensive in years.
Despite the map of Syria having been repeatedly redrawn since 2011, Hama has never been in rebel hands. Insurgents and Turkey-backed fighters opposed to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were under 10 miles from the city, according to the Associated Press.
Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul-Ghani, a senior rebel commander, denied government claims that they his fighters near the city had been repelled.
