An assault on a bus within the distant japanese a part of Syria killed no less than 15 individuals on Monday, based on the UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In keeping with the state-run information company SANA, the ambush befell within the area of Raqqa — the previous stronghold of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS).
Though no group has but claimed duty, indicators level to sleeper cells from the phobia group being behind the assault.
“At about 6:30 (0330 GMT) this morning, a civilian bus was subjected to a terrorist assault on the Raqqa-Homs freeway in al-Jira space, which led to the martyrdom of 11 military personnel and two civilians and the harm of three different military personnel,” SANA reported, citing a army supply which gave a contradicting variety of useless.
Debate over goal of assault
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which displays violence within the nation, disputed the SANA report, saying that the goal had been a army bus and that no civilians have been killed.
An unnamed army official had mentioned the bus was on route from Raqqa, now underneath Kurdish management, to the government-controlled central province of Homs.
IS has carried out related assaults in current months which have left dozens useless or wounded.
An assault final month by non-IS forces killed 10 troopers and pro-regime fighters in Aleppo, the best dying toll from an assault since Russia and Turkey signed a truce in March 2020.
Preliminary studies didn’t make clear whether or not the assault had consisted of a roadside bomb or an ambush with machinegun fireplace.
Sleeper cells nonetheless energetic
IS proclaimed its “caliphate” spanning an space of land the scale of Britain throughout japanese Syria and western Iraq in 2014 with town of Raqqa as their de-facto capital.
A coalition of varied forces together with US help ended the extremist group’s rule in 2019, however sleeper cells have continued to be energetic within the extra distant components of the nation.
With Russian and Iranian help, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has managed to wrest again management of the nation following the brutal greater than 10-year-long battle.
ab/kb (AFP, dpa, AP)