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UPDATE 1825 GMT: On the Ground News reports from the Hama frontlines:

UPDATE 1810 GMT: The Islamist bloc Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has said that the leading Islamist faction Ahrar al-Sham is excluded from the northern Hama offensive.

A commander of HTS, which has been vying for influence versus Ahrar in northwest Syria, said, “We don’t want this battle to revive Ahrar al-Sham after recent defections.”

Another HTS official asserted, “This is a punishment for Ahrar for not accepting a merger with other groups.”

UPDATE 1130 GMT: Rebels have now surrounded the town of Mhardeh in northern Hama Province.

Mhardeh is distinctive because of its mainly-Christian population. The Free Syrian Army said on Tuesday that it would not attack the town because of religious sensitivities.

A local source said the rebels may be preparing to enter the town because of a withdrawal by pro-Assad militias still based there, but emphasized that that no assault is planned.

Rebels appear to be concentrating on expanding a belt of control north of Hama city. Sources said the move near Mhardeh reinforced the cut-off of any regime supplies via Highway 56 from Latakia to the west.

Jaish al-Izza fighters inside a captured regime checkpoint and village near the Mhardeh dam:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Rebels closed within 5 km (3 miles) of Syria’s fourth-largest city Hama on the second day of their offensive in northern Hama Province.

The offensive, including the Islamists of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and units of the Free Syrian Army, captured more than 90 square kilometers (33 square miles) on Wednesday. Having begun with the takeover of the town of Souran on Tuesday, the rebels advanced through Khattab and moved west and south. By the evening, they overran regime defenses in the village of Arzeh and the nearby al-Shayha hill (see map), 5 km (3 miles) from Hama city.

Pro-rebel activists said 25 villages have been occupied, with the capture of 11 armored vehicles and destruction of five others.

Rebels are also within 5 km of Hama airport, close enough to attack it with anti-tank guided missiles. The airport, which is key position for Iranian and Russian forces, has the the largest ammunition dumps in the area and hosts an important barrel bomb factory.

Regime efforts to counter the offensive have been hampered by the cut-off of all major routes for reinforcements. Rebels in the Rastan pocket in northern Homs Province reportedly cut the road to Hama , and Highway 56 from Latakia was also blocked. The Islamic State, fighting the regime in eastern Aleppo Province, has occupied the Aleppo-to-Hama highway.

Rebels Hold Damascus Gains

The Hama offensive is the second front opened by anti-Assad forces this week. On Sunday, attacks led by Faylaq al-Rahman and Ahrar al-Sham took key positions in Jobar in northeastern Damascus, claiming Abbassiyeen Square, the Fares Khouri road leading into it, and the bus garage by Tuesday.

Regime forces, aided by more than 75 airstrikes, tried on Monday to reverse the initial gains. However, yesterday rebels appeared to be consolidating their advance, including into much of the industrial zone, despite more aerial attacks.

The offensive has established an overground link between rebels in Jobar and those in Damascus suburbs such as Qaboun, Barzeh, and Tishreen, which pro-Assad forces have been attacking for weeks in an attempt to quell much of the remaining rebel resistance near the capital.

Syrian State media has not acknowledged the rebel advances in either Hama or Damascus, insisted that the Syrian army has “foiled an attack…inflicting heavy losses upon terrorists”.

TOP PHOTO: Pro-opposition journalists in the town of Souran, captured by rebels on Tuesday, in northern Hama Province

Turkey Summons Russian Diplomat Over Slain Turkish Soldier, Blames Kurdish PYD

Turkey has summoned the Russian chargé d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry over the killing of a Turkish soldier by fire across the Syrian border.

Ankara is blaming “elements” of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) for the incident.

The Turkish military said the soldier was killed by a sniper on Wednesday while he was on guard duty in Reyhanli in southern Turkey on the border.

Turkey told the Russian diplomat that it is Moscow’s responsibility to monitor violations of the nominal ceasefire in Syria, and warned that it will retaliate in kind if attacks continue.

The Foreign Ministry also expressed Turkish unease at Russian officers photographed with the insignia of the Kurdish militia YPG on their uniforms.

Turkish tension with Russia has been elevated in recent weeks by Moscow’s deployment of forces and armored vehicles to bolster the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces near Manbij in Aleppo Province, setting a line against any Turkish-rebel advance, and then by the Kurdish announcement of an agreement for a Russian base in the Kurdish canton of Afrin in northwest Syria.

See Syria Daily, March 21: Kurdish Militia — Deal to Allow Russian Base in Northwest

US Airdrops Local Forces Behind ISIS Lines Near Tabqa

The US-led coalition has airdropped local ground forces behind Islamic State lines for the first time.

US warplanes dropped the fighters on Tuesday near the ISIS-held town of Tabqa, hoping to retake a major dam. US troops took part in the airdrop, but the coalition would not confirm if American special forces were on the ground.

The operation is part of the gathering offensive to reclaim the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s major position in Syria.

The offensive has been developing for months, but has been hindered by political difficulties. The US supports the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, but Turkey believes the YPG militia, which leads the SDF, is part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK.

The head of the YPG said last week htat a final assault to capture Raqqa will begin at the start of April. The Pentagon said a decision had yet to be taken.

The Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates River is about 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa.

A coalition spokesman said about 75% to 80% of the airdropped forces were Syrian Arabs in the SDF, with Kurds among the remainder. Apache helicopters, Marine artillery, and airstrikes were involved in the operation.

News of the airdrop came amid revelations of a US strike on a school near Raqqa killed more than 30 people on Monday, according to local pro-opposition activists.

See also Podcast: A “Sideshow” in Washington about the Islamic State