DAMASCUS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Battles continued to rage in the central province of Hama on Sunday between the Syrian army and the rebel groups, killing at least 13, a war monitor reported.
With the backing of ground shelling and airstrikes, the Syrian army managed to capture a town in northern Hama on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A total of nine soldiers and four rebels were killed in the Sunday battles.
According to the London-based watchdog, 126 government troops and 102 rebels had been killed in three towns over the past three days of battles which started with a counter-offensive of the rebels.
Areas of the countryside of the provinces of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo are included in a de-escalation zones' deal established in September 2018 by Russia and Turkey.
The deal didn't materialize as battles have escalated since late April.
