Islamic State strikes Damascus, 36 Syrian troops killed: Monitor

BEIRUT: A monitor said on Tuesday three dozen pro-government fighters were killed in a district of Syria’s capital as Islamic State jihadists took control of it in a surprise nighttime attack.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“IS took full control of Qadam, and 36 government troops and loyalist fighters have been killed,” the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Dozens more were wounded or captured, or are still missing in action, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

IS launched the attack from positions it holds in the adjacent Hajar al-Aswad district, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

“Regime forces are bringing reinforcements to the area around Qadam to try to retake it,” he said.

Qadam lies in a southern part of Damascus and has for several years hosted a range of Islamist rebels and extremists, including the IS and its arch-enemy, al-Qaeda’s onetime Syrian branch Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

ISLAMIC STATE PUT OUT A STATEMENT SAYING IT HAD CAPTURED MOST OF QADAM DISTRICT, INCLUDING AREAS “SURRENDERED” TO REGIME FORCES BY OTHER JIHADI GROUPS.

15 KIDS AMONG 17 DEAD IN GHOUTA AIR STRIKE

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike killed 15 children and two women sheltering in the basement of a school in the Syrian rebel-held town of Arbin in eastern Ghouta on Monday.

There was no comment from Damascus, which says its forces only target militants and accuses the Ghouta factions of holding civilians against their will — a charge rebels deny.