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Fierce fighting between Syria army, Daesh fighters in Hama

October 28, 2020 at 10:59 am

Syrian government soldiers sit atop a tank in Syria on 1 February 2020 [AFP/Getty Images]

About 30 fighters were killed in violent clashes between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Daesh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported yesterday.

The two sides have been fighting continuously since the beginning of the month in separate axes in the Syrian desert.

The SOHR stated that the battles are concentrated in the Ithria area in the north-eastern suburbs of Hama and other areas linking the governorates of Aleppo, Raqqa and Hama, where the Syrian army, with the support of Russian air forces, are trying to repel continuous Daesh attacks.

The clashes resulted in the death of 13 Daesh members and 16 SAA soldiers, in addition to a number of regime loyalists.

Though Daesh has largely been defeated in Syria, sleeper cells and small groups of fighters remain in the country and often target oil fields and gas installations.

Since March 2019, the SOHR has recorded the death of more than 900 members of the Syrian army and 140 fighters of its loyalist Iran-backed groups, in addition to 500 Daesh militants during battles in the Badia.

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