Beirut.- At least 26 soldiers were killed and eleven others were injured today in an attack by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) against the military bus in which they were traveling through the province of Deir al-Sur, in eastern Syria, reported the Syrian Observatory for Rights. Humans.
According to a statement from the NGO, based in the United Kingdom and a wide network of collaborators on the ground, the attack occurred at dawn in the Al Mayadin desert and “dozens” of passengers from the vehicle are still missing, for which reason the death toll could continue to rise.
This is the deadliest action carried out by IS against a government target so far this year and comes after the terrorist formation intensified its operations in the Damascus-controlled areas of the central Badia desert in recent days, from agreement with the Observatory.
An unnamed military source confirmed to the official Syrian news agency SANA that an army bus was attacked by a “terrorist group” in Deir al-Zur, noting that a number of soldiers were killed and wounded as a result of the assault, without offering an explanation. concrete figure.
Neither the Islamic State nor any other formation have so far assumed responsibility for the action.
Just three days ago, another ten members of forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed in attacks also attributed to IS against a series of positions in the town of Madan Atiq, in the northern province of Al-Raqqa.
The Islamic State was territorially defeated in the Arab country more than four years ago, but it still maintains active cells in various parts of the country, mainly concentrated in the vast Badia desert.
The desert region, which spans several Syrian provinces and beyond the nation’s borders, is often the scene of jihadist ambushes against Syrian government troops stationed there and also attacks by them against the terrorist formation.
Russian aviation, an ally of Damascus, often participates in anti-terrorist operations in Badia, offering air support to the Syrian Army.
According to data from the Observatory, more than 400 people have been killed in attacks and operations in Badia so far this year, including about 230 members of forces loyal to Al Asad and fighters from militias that support them, in addition to about twenty of IS jihadists.
