Syrian army and allied forces supported by Russian warplanes have made further advances in their offensive against insurgents with the fiercest clashes for nearly a week, a monitoring group said.  Russian jets carried out at least 30 airstrikes on the town of Kafr Nabuda, Hama province, in western Syria, and hundreds of shells hit the area as the Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters seized part of it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday.  Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have recaptured territory close to the government’s coastal heartland in the west in the past few days thanks to Russia’s intervention, reversing rebel advances made earlier this year.  Related: Moscow summons UK attache over claims RAF licenced to down Russian jets  Moscow says its air campaign is targeting Islamic State, but most of the strikes have hit rival insurgent groups fighting Assad, some of which are supported by the US.  The Observatory’s Rami Abdulrahman said that pro-government forces including the Lebanese Islamist militant group Hezbollah captured the southern part of Kafr Nabuda on Monday.  The fighting, shelling and airstrikes killed and wounded dozens of insurgents, he said.  “These are the most violent battles in the northern countryside [of Hama] since the start of joint operations [between the Russian air force and Syrian ground troops] several days ago,” he said.  Lebanon-based television station al-Mayadeen also reported that troops had taken over the southern part of Kafr Nabuda.  The town’s capture would bring government forces closer to insurgent-held positions along the main highway that links Syria’s major cities. “The town is very important and strategic,” Abdulrahman said.  On Sunday, the Syrian army and Hezbollah took control of Tal Skik on the other side of the highway in southern Idlib province. Many of Russia’s airstrikes have hit the surrounding area, which also lies east of Assad’s stronghold of Latakia.  Russia began its air campaign on 30 September, alarming a US-led coalition which is carrying out its own airstrikes against Isis in Syria and Iraq.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports fierce clashes in Kafr Nabuda with pro-Assad troops, including Hezbollah, capturing parts of the town