Syrian fighters retake ISIS-turf hospital

U.S.-backed Syrian fighters pushed deeper into the Islamic State group’s last remaining stronghold Monday, capturing an abandoned hospital.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces entered the eastern town of Hajin last week, and intense fighting has been ongoing since then. Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali said the U.S.-allied fighters took full control of the hospital early Monday.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the hospital had been destroyed earlier by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition. The hospital was close to the front lines and was not believed to be operating when it was hit.

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters launched an offensive to capture Hajin and nearby villages on Sept. 10. They have made little progress since then, but last week intensified their attacks under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.led coalition.

The Observatory meanwhile released an updated death toll for Syria’s conflict, saying that about 560,000 people have been killed since it began in March 2011. The group said it has documented the names of 367,965 of the deceased. The group said the dead include 111,330 civilians, 65,048 troops and 50,296 pro-government Syrian gunmen. It said the dead also include 65,108 insurgents and 2,619 army defectors.