The roots of the offensive lie in the rebels' successful capture of the city of Idlib on March 28. As Stratfor previously noted, the capture of Idlib marked the dominance of the rebel forces in Idlib province and threatened to undermine other government efforts in the north. Determined to weaken the rebels in Idlib and prevent them from making further gains, Damascus dispatched a number of units to try to recapture lost territory in the province. However, the repositioning of forces left dangerous holes in government lines across other key battlefronts. These reinforcements, spearheaded by the renowned loyalist Tiger Forces, made some initial gains around the town of Mastouma south of Idlib but did not succeed in breaking the rebel lines. Through virtue of deploying along the Idlib corridor and down the al-Ghab Plain in northwestern Hama, the loyalist counteroffensive is vulnerable to interdiction.