Syrian army withdraws from key city of Hama amid rebel surge, state news reports

LONDON -- Syrian state media said Thursday that government forces were withdrawing from the city of Hama in the face of a rebel advance, marking another major setback for President Bashar al-Assad and his backers in Russia and Iran.

The Syrian Arab News Agency said government forces withdrew to positions outside the central Syrian city. The report came hours after opposition fighters -- led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group -- claimed to have entered the city and struck towards its center.

The Syrian army said its troops withdrew after rebel fighters broke through government defenses in Hama. The army accused the opposition groups of using suicide attacks to breach government lines. The fighting on the outskirts of the city was "intense," SANA reported.

The army's General Command said the withdrawal was ordered to "preserve civilian lives" by avoiding fighting inside the city, SANA reported.

Hama is Syria's fourth largest city. It sits between the capital Damascus to the south and Aleppo -- Syria's second city -- to the north. Aleppo fell to the lightning rebel offensive on Nov. 29. Hama was one of the few major cities that did not fall to anti-government forces following the 2011 revolution against Assad's rule.

The rebel offensive is being waged by HTS and a collection of Turkish-backed Syrian militias known as the Syrian National Army.

The rebel capture of Hama would facilitate an attack towards the city of Homs, less than 30 miles to the south.

To the west, Hama province borders Latakia, which is known as a heartland of Assad government support. Latakia is home to the Russian Khmeimim air base -- a key facility for Moscow's power projection in the Middle East and Mediterranean.

ABC News' Someyah Malekian contributed to this report.