At least 28 Syrian soldiers and pro-government forces were killed in two attacks in government-held areas of war-torn Syria, war monitors said Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS militants opened fire on a military bus in the eastern countryside of Homs province, killing at least 22 army soldiers and pro-government fighters.
The UK-based Observatory said most of those killed were members of the Quds Brigades, a group of Palestinian fighters that has received support from Damascus's ally Moscow in recent years.
The Observatory said six government soldiers were killed in another ISIS attack on a base near al-Bukamal in eastern Deir Ezzor province.
The attack was not reported in Syrian state media.
ISIS seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in 2014, declared a so-called caliphate, and began a reign of terror.
Although defeated on Syrian territory in 2019, its remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks against pro-government forces and Kurdish-led fighters, particularly in the vast Badia desert.
The Observatory said ISIS militants killed eight Syrian soldiers in an ambush in late March, and the group said it had previously killed 14 soldiers.
The Syrian war has claimed more than 500,000 lives and displaced millions more since it erupted in March 2011 with Damascus' brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
Updated: April 19, 2024, 11:33 a.m.
