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Syrian troops destroy terrorist unit in Raqqa province's southwest, says online paper

The government troops had conducted a mop-up operation near the city of Salmiya, from where militants had been attacking military convoys on a regular basis

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Units of the Syrian army have liquidated a group of Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) terrorists during an operation in the southwest of Raqqa province, the Al-Masdar online newspaper reported on Sunday.

It said the government troops had conducted a mop-up operation near the city of Salmiya, from where militants had been attacking military convoys on a regular basis.

"Members of the gang were tracked down and destroyed, as a result of which the safety of traffic on the highway from Homs to Raqqa and from Hama to Deir ez-Zor was ensured," a Syrian military taking part in the operation told the news portal. According to him, now the troops are facing the task to protect oil wells in that area, in particular on the al-Taim field.

IS units that lost control over vast areas in eastern Syria and the neighboring Iraq after the defeat in 2017, have become increasingly more active of late. According to the Arabic international newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, during the month of Ramadan (between April 24 and May 24), terrorists carried out at least 11 operations against government forces, in which 37 Syrian military and militias were killed. Within the same period, they repeatedly attacked Kurdish units from the Syrian Democratic Forces, staged terrorist attacks in local settlements, killed and kidnapped residents. According to the paper, Syrian troops and Kurdish militias destroyed 47 terrorists, including four field commanders, in military response.