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.



Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
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Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months.

In a statement, Israel's military did not give the identity of the targeted person. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Lebanese state media said a car had been hit near Tripoli and the health ministry reported two people were killed and three others wounded, without identifying them, Reuters reported.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps that have housed displaced Palestinians for decades.

Since Hamas' cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in 2023, Israel has carried out targeted strikes on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah as well as members of Palestinian factions in Lebanon.

Hamas' deputy chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early 2024, and other strikes hit Palestinian camps in northern Lebanon.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Tuesday's strike near Tripoli was the first time a targeted assassination had taken place in the area since the truce.

Meanwhile, US envoy Thomas Barrack continued a two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Hezbollah and other militant groups.