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Beirut (APA / AFP) – According to activists, at least 221 people have been killed in one of the largest attacks by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia in Syria since beginning of the civil war. Among the dead of the series of concerted attacks Wednesday in southern Syria, 127 civilians and 94 government troops fighters, said the Syrian opposition human rights observatory
The jihadists lost 38 fighters, including seven suicide bombers. The IS has confessed to the attacks. Alone in the city of Sweida (Al-Suwaida), four badbadins had exploded, reported the observatory. Later, other suicide bombers and fighters stormed the villages north and east of the provincial capital. For the media, data from the London-based organization can hardly be verified.
Most government fighters killed in IS attacks were, according to the Observatory, residents of the country who fought to defend their villages. at. The population of Sweida usually belongs to the Druze minority, which largely stood out from the civil war.
The ISI militia claimed responsibility against the Telegram short message service. "Caliphate soldiers" attacked checkpoints and government buildings in Sweida and explosive belts, he said.
Syrian media confirmed that there were dead and wounded in Sweida and surrounding villages. The army has therefore launched a counteroffensive to repel the ISF fighters
The official Syrian news agency Sana said the attacks in Sweida were aimed at putting pressure on the fighters of EI in the neighboring province of Deraa. towards the inevitable end. "According to estimates, nearly a thousand ISF fighters in the western Sweida region have been exposed to heavy air strikes by Russian fighters and Syrians for days.New attacks were also reported on Wednesday.
Bashar al-Assad's forces drove the IS militia out of its strongholds in the east of the country during the last few days. However, the jihadist group continues to have retreats in the desert and attacks on government forces.
According to the Observatory, at least 41 civilians, 67 jihadists and 49 government fighters have been killed in the Deraa offensive since July 19. On Tuesday, Israel announced the slaughter of a Syrian fighter in the Israeli airspace. On the other hand, Damascus accused the neighbor of having bombed a fighter plane on Syrian territory, which had t bombed the jihadists.
In recent weeks, Assad forces had managed to mix the negotiations and military pressure, most of the rebel areas. Deraa and the neighboring province of Quneitra regain control. The resumption of Deraa is of great symbolic importance for Assad, because it is there that the protests against him began in March 2011. They then spread to the civil war
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