At least 13 people have been killed in a suspected attack by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia on a pro-government force in eastern Syria

BEIRUT – Suspected members of the Islamic State group attacked three posts of Syrian government troops and pro-government gunmen early Friday, killing at least 13 people, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media reported.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack injured other people who were taken to hospitals in the central province of Homs. Fifteen people were killed in the attacks on three posts near downtown Sukhna, it said, blaming ISIS.

The conflicting casualty figures could not immediately be reconciled.

Athr Press and Sham FM, both pro-government media, said 13 soldiers and pro-government gunmen were killed in the attacks and that IS gunmen were behind them. They did not provide any further information.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the area was once a stronghold of the extremist group, which was officially defeated in Syria in March 2019.

However, IS sleeper cells have been blamed for deadly attacks against both Syrian government forces and members of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria.

In 2014, ISIS declared a caliphate across much of Syria and Iraq, attracting thousands of followers from around the world to join it.

An ISIS attack on pro-government Palestinian fighters near Sukhna killed 22 people last month.