Beirut | Fifteen people, mostly soldiers, were killed in an ambush by the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, the second attack carried out by this jihadist organization against regime forces in less than a week, reported Monday a NGO.
The attack took place on Sunday evening against a bus and cars in Wadi al-Azib, in the north of the province of Hama, on a road connecting the city of Raqa (north) to the capital Damascus, the Observatory said. Syrian for Human Rights (OSDH).
Eight Syrian soldiers, four fighters from allied groups and three civilians perished in the attack, and 15 people were injured, according to a new report from OSDH. A previous report reported nine dead, including seven soldiers.
The bus was carrying soldiers “and probably some of their relatives” to bring them home, OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahmane told AFP.
IS did not claim responsibility for the attack, but OSDH claimed it was carried out by this jihadist organization.
In Damascus, the official Sana news agency reported nine civilians killed in a “terrorist attack”.
This is the second attack on a bus carrying Syrian soldiers carried out by ISIS in five days. On December 30, 39 soldiers were killed in an ambush claimed by ISIS and aimed at soldiers aboard a bus in Deir Ezzor province (east).
Despite being routed in March 2019, ISIS continues to launch deadly attacks in Syria.
The Syrian conflict, triggered in 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy protests, has left more than 387,000 dead.