Syrians inspect the site of a suicide bombing in Sweida, Syria, on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. Syrian media say dozens of people were killed in a suicide bombing in the south of the country, accusing militants of the Islamic State.
The Canadian Press
ISIL fighters ambushed a town and several villages in southern Syria, triggering fierce clashes between residents and militants who, according to the authorities provincial health services, killed more than 200 people. Attacks across Sweida province, which included several suicide attacks, broke the calm of a region that was largely isolated from the worst violence of the seven-year civil war in Syria
. also called Sweida, have apparently been scheduled to coincide with attacks on villages in the eastern countryside, creating chaos in the province.
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The attacks sparked deadly clashes between pro-government fighters and residents to defend their hometowns from one side and the IS's militants from the US. 39; another.
Exclusive: How Canada's Woman in Istanbul By nightfall, the province's health directorate identified 204 civilians killed and 180 wounded, according to Hbadan Omar, a local government official. made the bloodiest day for the province since the 2011 national uprising that sparked Sultan Bou Ammar, a resident of Shbiki village, said some residents had unwittingly opened their doors when activists struck early Thursday morning, The attack was so unexpected.
"They kidnapped more than 40 people According to the monitoring group of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, at least 183 people were killed, including 94 residents of local defense militias backed by the Syrian government At least 45 ISIS militants were killed in the fighting
Al-Ikhbariya state television showed images of several places in the province and its capital where bombers blew themselves up
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The rare attacks in Sweida, populated mainly by the Syrian minority Druze, occurred amidst a government offensive elsewhere in the south of the country. Government forces are fighting the ISI-related group close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and near the border with Jordan, and the group also has a small presence on the eastern border of Israel. Sweida Province.
Since their offensive in June, Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces have taken over rebel-held territory along the Golan Heights border.
EI has been largely defeated in Syria and Iraq, but it still has pockets of territory that it controls in eastern and southern Syria.
The extremist group boasted that its "soldiers" were killing more than 100 people in Sweida. In a statement broadcast on the group's social networks, he said his activists had launched surprise attacks on the government and security centers, provoking clashes with Syrian troops and allied militias
. . The Observatory also reported a series of suicide bombings and clashes in the province's countryside. According to the television channel, Sweida News Network, a local militia fought the ISI affiliate group and at least 30 militiamen were killed.
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Al-Ikhbariya said that one of the suicide bombers hit a vegetable market in the city of Sweida just after 5 am, a busy time for the merchants at the beginning of the war.
The kamikaze crossed the market on a motorcycle and blew up his explosives, reported the television channel. A second attacker hit in another busy place of the city. Two other badailants blew themselves up while they were being chased by security forces, the television said.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns the terrorist attacks" and "is appalled by the complete disregard for human life," said US spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "Those responsible for the attacks must be held accountable."
The city of Sweida has been largely spared from most of the violence that Syrian cities have witnessed since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Provincial religious and civil leaders have But the rural province suffered from emigration, the weak job prospects and the pressures of conscription to serve in the national army forced men to leave the city
. Ammar, of Shbiki, said that there were not many men to defend the village when the militants attacked.
"We have received reinforcements from near and far forces, God has given them peace." For the southern offensive, government forces redeployed troops from Sweida province last month to attack rebels and ISIS affiliates in the neighboring provinces of Daraa and Quneitra.
Daraa's control but continues to fight ISIL-affiliated militants in Quneitra.
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