War Monitor: ISIS Group Kills Nine Syrian Soldiers

Members of the terrorist ISIS in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Members of the terrorist ISIS in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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War Monitor: ISIS Group Kills Nine Syrian Soldiers

Members of the terrorist ISIS in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Members of the terrorist ISIS in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

ISIS militants killed nine Syrian soldiers in the war-torn country's vast Badia desert on Tuesday, a war monitor said.

"Nine Syrian soldiers were killed and three wounded" when they had gathered in the east of Hama province in central Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, AFP reported.

ISIS has stepped up attacks in Syria in recent months, particularly in the Badia desert which runs from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border.

On February 2, the extremist group killed five members of forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said the Britain-based Observatory.

An ISIS attack on January 9 killed at least 14 government soldiers in the east of Homs province, said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources in Syria for its reports.

The terrorist group overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming its "caliphate" and launching a reign of terror.

It was defeated territorially in Syria in 2019 but its remnants continue to carry out deadly hit-and-run attacks and ambushes, particularly from desert hideouts.

Syria has been devastated by a civil war triggered in 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy protests and which has resulted in more than half a million deaths.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."