BEIRUT (Reuters) - A temporary ceasefire has been agreed in a rebel-held area near Damascus which Syrian government forces and their allies are trying to recapture from insurgents, a military news service run by the Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Friday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report with rebel sources. The government and its allies have been trying to seize the Wadi Barada area where a spring provides supplies to four million people in Damascus.

The report said the ceasefire was agreed for “a number of hours” and included all the factions in the area. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group, is fighting alongside the Syrian government in the Syrian war.