MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. /TASS/. Syrian government forces have regained control over the city of Kafr Nabuda in the north of the Hama governorate located some 15 kilometers off the Hama-Aleppo highway, SANA news agency reported on Sunday.

According to SANA, battered illegal armed groups are retreating eastwards, to the settlement of al-Hobeit.

The Syrian army command on Wednesday took a tactical decision to retreat from Kaft Nabuda to spare the lives of its soldiers. After a series of massive attacks from various directions, the city was seized by Jabhat al-Nusra (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) militants. Having received reinforcement, Syrian government troops ultimately dislodged the enemy.

Militants attempted to take another strategic stronghold of the government army in the Qalaat al-Madiq fortress in the River Orontes valley in the northwest of the Hama governorate but were rebuffed.

In retaliation to ceasefire violations by militants in the northern de-escalation zone, the Syrian army on Sunday opened fire at militants’ bases in Khan Shaykhoun and Maaret Naaman in the south of the neighboring Idlib governorate. Strikes were also delivered at militants’ positions in al-Lataman and Kafr Zeit.