Syrian rebels are rapidly advancing on the city Homs, having taken control of the northern countryside amid a lightning offensive against government forces that has already seized Hama and Aleppo.

Controlling Homs would allow the opposition to cut off the main road leading to the Syrian coast, a key stronghold of president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority, and pave the way for an advance on the capital Damascus.

Having seized nearby Hama on Thursday after just two days of fighting, the anti-regime forces were three miles from Homs by Friday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

This is despite attempts by Russian-backed government forces to slow the rebel advance, including the destruction of a key bridge overnight.

The rebel coalition is seeking the full overthrow of Assad and his “dead” regime, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who lead the anti-regime forces, told CNN.

“When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime,” he said.

“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been within it… the Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains: this regime is dead.”