Islamic State claims responsibility for suicide bombings which killed over 100 in Syria
The Islamic State has claimed a series of suicide attacks in southern Syria on Wednesday which killed at least 100 people, most of whom are pro-Syrian government fighters.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Islamic State (IS) has claimed a series of suicide attacks in southern Syria on Wednesday which killed at least 100 people, most of whom are pro-Syrian government fighters.
The attacks, which appear to have been coordinated, are the deadliest by IS in months. The militant group said in a statement that it was responsible for the attack which left over 100 dead.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the assaults killed 156 people, including 41 civilians.
“Three bombers with explosive belts targeted Sweida city alone, while the other blasts hit villages to the north and east,” SOHR said.
Further attacks followed, with IS fighters gaining control of three out of seven villages it had targeted, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said in a statement, adding that in areas close to Sweida city, up to 26 pro-government fighters had been killed and over 30 others wounded.
The report also mentioned that unidentified jets bombarded IS militants in the area.
State-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the attack killed and injured multiple people in the provincial capital and stated that the government forces were targeting IS positions in the eastern countryside.
Although pro-Syrian forces have had control of urban centers in eastern Syria since 2017, surprise attacks by the extremist group in recent months have killed dozens of government and allied forces.
The government controls almost all of the country’s southwestern territory, including Sweida, but IS remain present in rural desert areas to the north and east.
Editing by John J. Catherine and Karzan Sulaivany