62 regime fighters killed in Daesh attack

beirut — A lightning assault by the Daesh group that put the militants in control of a southern part of the Syrian capital killed 62 regime fighters, a monitor said on Wednesday in a new toll.

Daesh launched the surprise attack on Monday night to seize the Qadam neighbourhood of Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor gave an initial toll on Tuesday of 36 progovernment fighters dead, but said that loyalists had retrieved additional bodies since.

“The toll has risen to 62, most of them local pro-regime fighters,” said the Observatory.

“Regime reinforcements have gathered on the outskirts of Qadam, but the operation to recapture it has not yet started,” said monitor chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

Daesh have maintained a presence in parts of Damascus.

It launched its Monday night attack from Hajar Al Aswad, taking advantage of a temporary power vacuum in Qadam after fighters evacuated the area under a deal with the regime.

That agreement saw most of them head to the northwestern province of Idlib, which is controlled by a group led by Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate.

Syrian daily Al Watan also reported on Wednesday that regime forces had sent reinforcements to Qadam, but said Daesh had only taken “a few buildings in the district’s east”. —

Regime reinforcements have gathered on the outskirts of Qadam, but the operation to recapture it has not yet started

Rami Abdel Rahman,

Observatory head