ISIS attack kills 11 Syrian regime and allied fighters, says a war monitor

An attack by the ISIS extremist group in the Syrian desert Thursday killed 11 government and allied fighters, a monitoring group said.

The fighters died in an attack on their vehicle between al-Sokhna and al-Shula in the area straddling Homs and Deir Ezzor provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the UK-based monitoring organization, could not immediately provide further details, but warned that the casualty toll could rise.

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There was no immediate claim from ISIS, whose caliphate disintegrated last year but has continued to conduct frequent guerrilla-style attacks in eastern Syria.

At least 27 government and allied fighters were killed in an attack by the extremist group in the same desert area a month ago.

ISIS has also carried out deadly attacks in Iraq in recent weeks.

Observers have warned that border closures and mobilization of security resources due to the coronavirus pandemic could give rise to a surge in ISIS attacks.

The extremist group, which once administered a proto-state the size of Great Britain, no longer has fixed positions, but it still has hundreds of fighters hunkered down in desert hideouts.