Armed fighters reportedly unleashed a massive assault on Mhardeh on Wednesday, February 27 resulting in heavy damage to the civil infrastructure of the Christian city in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate, Al-Masdar News reports.

The attack was carried out by the Free Syrian Army’s Jaysh Al-Izza faction, who have been involved in a heavy exchange of hostilities with the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) for months in Hama.

According to a military source from Mhardeh, the Jaysh Al-Izza attack on the city resulted in heavy damage to the thermal power plant, leaving thousands without electricity on Wednesday evening.

The source said the Islamist rebels fired at least 15 missiles towards the thermal power plant, which has lately been their primary target in their retaliatory attacks against the government.

A source from the power plant told Al-Masdar earlier this week that the damage done to the site has cost the Syrian government over 1 billion Syrian Pounds (approximately $1.94 million).

Mhardeh is the largest Syrian Christian city in Syria; it is home to tens of thousands of people, including a large number of displaced civilians from the northern Hama region.