Beirut: More than two dozen pro-government forces based in Syria’s desert died in a surprise Daesh attack Tuesday, a day after the group’s ouster from the outskirts of Damascus, a monitor said.
“At least 26 regime soldiers and allied forces were killed in an Daesh attack at dawn today, against one of their posts in the Syrian Badiya,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Among them were Iranian militiamen, said the Britain-based monitor.
The Badiya is a vast desert region stretching from central Syria to the eastern border with Iraq, where Daesh still holds small pockets.
Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman said the attack hit a small base east of Palmyra, the famed ancient city that Daesh has overrun twice in Syria’s war.
“It began with a car bomb targeting regime forces that set off clashes that are still ongoing,” he said.
Five Daesh fighters were also killed.
“Daesh launched their attack from a pocket they control in the Badiya, and which was the destination for Daesh fighters evacuated from southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday,” Abdul Rahman added.
Syria’s regime on Monday seized a southern pocket of the capital from Daesh, announcing that the regime was back in full control of Damascus and its outskirts.
The Observatory, as well as a military source close to the regime, said the capture came after Daesh militants were bussed out of the zone to desert territory.
