On Thursday, Daesh (Islamic State, IS) opened fire on an army bus in eastern Syria and killed at least 23 soldiers. In recent weeks, IS members have increased their attacks in Syria’s north and northeast.
At least 23 soldiers have been killed in Syria’s war-torn east, a monitor said on Friday, the deadliest in a new wave of attacks blamed on Islamic State group jihadists.
“Dozens of (other) soldiers” were missing after the attack in Deir Ezzor province on Thursday, in which the jihadists surrounded the bus and opened fire, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman said IS “has recently been escalating its deadly military attacks… aiming to cause as many deaths as possible.”
By doing so, the jihadists are trying to send “a message aimed at showing the group is still active and powerful despite the targeting of its leaders”, he told AFP.
Last week, IS announced the death of its leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, who it said was killed in clashes in northwestern Syria. A spokesman for the group announced a new leader, known as Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, in a recorded message on its channels on the Telegram messaging app.
Spate of IS attacks
In March 2019, IS lost the last territory it held in Syria to a Kurdish-led counteroffensive backed by a US-led coalition, but jihadist remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks.
Thursday’s attack was the third carried out by the jihadists this month alone.
Earlier this week, 10 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an IS attack in the former jihadist stronghold of Raqa province, the Observatory said.
Last week, the jihadists attacked a convoy of oil tankers guarded by the army in the Syrian desert, killing seven people including two civilians.
Last month, IS claimed responsibility for a rare bombing in Damascus that killed at least six people near the capital’s Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum, Syria’s most visited Shiite pilgrimage site.
Katrine Houmøller, with AFP
