(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian Alawite-dominated province of Tartus, in massive funeral, has buried 17 troops of 150 killed last week by Islamic State militant group east Homs, activists said on Tuesday.
The coastal city, which considered as a main supply of militants, has lost more than 70 fighters in fighting against ISIS in al-Shaer gas field in the east of the ancient site of Palmyra last week.
The tottering army of Bashar al-Assad and after big reinforcement was able to recapture strategic gas fields last Thursday, with death toll topped 150 soldiers according to activists.
The last blow was not the first for Assad's army. Last July, ISIS fighters killed 270 soldiers, guards and staff when they attacked al-Shaer gas field.
While coastal Tartus has remained relatively insulated from actual
fighting, its residents have swelled the ranks of the army and pro-regime
militia, the National Defence Forces, according to AFP.
The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor tracking the war's casualties, puts the number even higher, saying around half of the 60,000 regime fighters killed come from Tartus.
Editing by Ridha Ali
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