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At least 34 Syrian soldiers killed in suspected ISIS attack as threat surges

A war monitor said at least 34 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an Islamic State attack in the central desert in one of the deadliest assaults by the group this year.

A general view taken on Aug. 13, 2017 shows an Islamic State (IS) group poster in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah as pro-government fighters clear the area after taking control of the city situated in the county's large desert area called the Badiya.
A general view shows an Islamic State poster in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah as pro-government fighters clear the area on Aug. 13, 2017. — AFP via Getty Images

At least 34 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed and several others injured in one of the deadliest attacks attributed to the Islamic State in Syria, a war monitor reported on Wednesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that early on Wednesday, ISIS members launched simultaneous attacks on positions of the Syrian army and the government's paramilitary National Defense Forces in an area between Raqqa, Homs and Deir ez-Zor, in the central Syrian desert of al-Rasafah.

In response, Russian warplanes launched a series of airstrikes against ISIS positions in the area, killing at least seven militants, said the UK-based monitor.

The Syrian army has yet to comment on the news and ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

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