Syrian jets bombard plain after rebel attack - monitor

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian air force bombarded a plain in the northwest of the country overnight, a group monitoring the war said, after insurgents launched an offensive to advance deeper into government-held areas vital to President Bashar al-Assad.

The insurgents are seeking to drive into the Sahl al-Ghab plain, an area crucial to the defence of the western coastal mountains that are part of the heartland of Assad's Alawite sect as well as lying close to Hama city to the southeast.