Fierce battles in central Syria amid Russian airstrikes

Damascus: Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes seized a village in central Syria today amid fierce clashes with rebels, part of a ground offensive launched earlier this week.

That offensive marked the first major air-and-ground assault since Moscow began its military campaign in Syria on September 30. Russian officials say the airstrikes are targeting mainly Islamic State militants, but most strikes are hitting areas where the extremist group is not present.

The fighting is concentrated in Hama and the northern Idlib provinces, where a consortium of mainstream rebels as well as al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, are operating.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists across Syria, said government troops seized control of Atshan on Friday amid intense Russian airstrikes in the region. It said troops also seized the nearby Um Hartein village.

Syrian troops have faced stiff resistance from the rebels, who have used advanced US-made TOW missiles to attack Syrian tanks and armored vehicles.

The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that Russian planes flew 64 sorties and targeted 54 sites in the past 24 hours, without elaborating. Among the sites attacked, it said, were command outposts in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has insisted its airstrikes are targeting the Islamic State group and other terrorists. But U.S. Officials said this week that Russia has directed parts of its air campaign against US-funded groups and other moderate opposition groups in a concerted effort to weaken them.

The Observatory said Russian warplanes on Saturday bombed a headquarters of the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham rebel group in Saraqeb, in Idlib province. There was no immediate confirmation or details.

Heavy fighting was also taking place in the al-Ghab plain in Hama province a natural barrier between areas controlled by Sunni Muslims and the Alawite sect to which Assad and many of his loyalists belong.

Syria's civil war, which has killed more than 250,000 people in the past four years, has displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million people. A U.S.-led coalition has been striking Islamic State targets in Syria for over a year.