At least 12 members of the Syrian government forces died this Tuesday (9) and another 20 were injured in an attack by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) against the bus in which they were traveling through the province of Homs, the NGO Syrian Observatory reported for Human Rights (OSDH).
The action occurred when the vehicle was traveling through the Palmyra desert and caused the death of at least 12 of its occupants, while more than 20 had to be transferred to hospitals in the region with injuries of varying degrees.
The OSDH attributed the attack to Islamic State fighters, although at this time no group has yet claimed responsibility.
The terrorist group was territorially defeated in Syria in March 2019, but still maintains active cells mainly in the vast central Badia desert, where it relatively regularly attacks targets of the Syrian Army and groups that support it.
According to data from the Observatory, throughout 2023 the group killed 693 people in different parts of the country and the bulk of the deaths were concentrated in that desert, where 167 civilians and 411 members of troops loyal to the Syrian regime, led by Bashar al. -Assad.
Badia's complex orography makes it easier for IS to flee to different hideouts after launching its ambushes, of which army buses are relatively frequent targets.
Despite the high number of victims inflicted last year, the Islamic State lost only 82 members during this period in different ground offensives, aerial bombings, selective assassinations or clashes with opponents of different stripes, according to the NGO.
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