More than two dozen pro-regime forces based in Syria's desert died in a surprise Daesh (ISIS) attack Tuesday, a day after the militants' ouster from the outskirts of Damascus, a monitor said.
"At least 26 regime soldiers and allied forces were killed in an IS [Daesh] attack at dawn today, against one of their posts in the Syrian Badiya," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Among them were Iranian militiamen, the Britain-based monitor said.
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 Abdel 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.
"IS fighters launched their attack from a pocket they control in the Badiya, and which was the destination for IS fighters evacuated from southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday," Abdel Rahman added.
Syria's regime 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 fighters were bussed out of the zone to desert territory.
AFP
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