IS kills 25 troops in Syria attack

BEIRUT, Apr 19 (AFP): The Islamic State (IS) group launched a surprise attack near a town in eastern Syria they had lost six months ago, killing at least 25 regime forces, a monitor said Thursday.

At least 13 jihadists were also killed in the attack which IS carried out near Mayadeen on Wednesday afternoon, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

Mayadeen lies in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on the western bank of the Euphrates River and is flanked by the vast Badia desert to its west and south.

A military source on Thursday however denied any attack against positions of the Syrian army along the western bank of the Euphrates. But intermittent bombardment on army positions from its eastern bank had prompted retaliation with suitable weapons, the source said.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, control most of the territory to the east of the Euphrates, where a few villages are still under IS control. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said Thursday morning "IS attempts to advance in the direction of the town of Mayadeen are ongoing" from the Badia desert.