Syria monitor says opposition forces near Homs city

A monitor of Syria’s war said Syrian opposition groups were just five kilometers (three miles) from third city Homs on Friday, after controlling two strategic towns on the road linking it to Hama.

“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions have reached five kilometers from the outskirts of Homs city after controlling the towns of Rastan and Talbisseh,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that controlling Homs would allow the opposition to “cut off the main road leading to the Syrian coast,” the stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority.

Agencies