Syrian government forces launched a counterattack against Islamist-led rebels around the key city of Hama on Wednesday after suffering a string of staggering losses, a war monitor said.Hama is strategically located in central Syria and for the army,

Intense airstrikes overnight drove Syrian rebels back from the edge of Hama, a major city whose fall would pile pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, both sides said on Wednesday. Rebels have staged a whirlwind advance over the past week,

Syrian rebel forces arrived at the gates of the key city of Hama on Tuesday, as their fighting with the military sparked "a large wave of displacement", a war monitor said.