Rebels dealt another serious blow to the Syrian government today by capturing a key city in the center of the country.

Opposition forces took control of Hama, north of Damascus, and one of the few cities that's remained largely under government control since the Civil War started back in 2011.

The northern city of Aleppo fell earlier this week as the opposition

launched a major operation against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. John Yang has our report.

After two days of fierce fighting as the opposition dealt with both the regime and Russian air strikes, today the city

of Hama in central Syria fell to opposition forces.

Locals and others across the nation rejoiced.

Hama is a key strategic hub in the fight for Syria.

It lies at the crossroads of Aleppo and Damascus,

Assad's base of power, on the M5 highway, a vital route connecting Syria's northern and southern

regions. It's also home to the Hamas military base, and now both the base and its stockpile

are in the hands of the opposition coalition, led by Hayat Terrier al-Sham and Syrian National Army Opposition Groups.

The city had been in the regime's hands for the past 13 years of civil war until today.

How big a deal is it now that the rebels have Hamas?

It's a huge deal.

Pushing further south, the rebel forces are now into what's called the spine of the country.

It really is where the two parts of Syria, the neck and the base of Syria, connect.

And that's why it's strategically important.

Andrew Tabor is a senior fellow

at the Washington Institute and the former director for Syria at the National Security Council's

Middle East Affairs Directorate during the first Trump administration. What this at a minimum will do

is causing a major contraction, probably the biggest contraction since Russia entered the conflict in 2015. Most likely it will

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