ISIS Attack Kills 11 Regime, Allied Fighters in Syrian Desert

FILE PHOTO: Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk on the rubble of damaged shops and buildings in the city of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk on the rubble of damaged shops and buildings in the city of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo
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ISIS Attack Kills 11 Regime, Allied Fighters in Syrian Desert

FILE PHOTO: Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk on the rubble of damaged shops and buildings in the city of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk on the rubble of damaged shops and buildings in the city of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo

An attack by ISIS in the Syrian desert Thursday killed 11 regime and allied fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The fighters died in an attack on their vehicle between Al-Sokhna and Al-Shula in the area straddling Homs and Deir Ezzor provinces.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the UK-based monitor, warned that the casualty toll could rise.

There was no immediate claim from ISIS.

At least 27 regime and allied fighters were killed in an attack by the militant group in the same desert area on April 9.

ISIS has also carried out deadly attacks in Iraq in recent weeks.

Observers have warned that border closures and mobilization of security resources due to the coronavirus pandemic could give rise to a surge in ISIS attacks.

The extremist group no longer has fixed positions, but it still has hundreds of militants hunkered down in desert hideouts.

Two members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were also killed in a suspected ISIS attack in Baghouz, near the border with Iraq, the Observatory said.

Such attacks against the SDF have been frequent in the Baghouz area.



At Least 10 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Medics Say

Smoke rises over the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, December 22, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises over the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, December 22, 2024. (Reuters)
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At Least 10 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Medics Say

Smoke rises over the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, December 22, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises over the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, December 22, 2024. (Reuters)

At least 10 people were killed, including five journalists, and more than a dozen wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza early on Thursday, medics with the Gaza health authorities said.

Five people were killed and 20 wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, the medics reported. They warned the death toll could rise as many people remained trapped under the rubble.

In a separate incident, five journalists were killed when their vehicle was struck in the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, the enclave's health authorities said. The journalists worked for the Al-Quds Al-Youm television channel.

Palestinian media and local reporters said the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and Nuseirat camp.

The Israeli army said its air force attacked the vehicle in a "targeted manner", adding members of the Islamic Jihad militant group were inside.

On Wednesday, Palestinian group Hamas and Israel traded blame over their failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.

More than 45,361 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday.