16 Syrian soldiers killed by IS jihadists: Monitor

The troops, with Russian air support, carried out an operation against IS in the Sukhna desert in Homs province for several days, said the British observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria.

In 2014, IS overran large parts of Syria and Iraq, proclaimed a so-called caliphate and established a reign of terror.

It was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, but its remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks, particularly in the vast Badia Desert that stretches from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border, primarily targeting pro-government supporters and Kurdish-led fighters.

According to the Observatory, at least 348 Syrian government supporters have been killed in IS ambushes and attacks in the desert this year.

Earlier this month, six shepherds were killed in an IS attack on a village east of Homs, the Observatory reported.

According to a United Nations report published in January, IS has a total of 3,000 to 5,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. The Badia Desert serves as the group’s logistics and operations center in Syria.

According to the UN, more than 14 million people in Syria are at risk of contamination from explosive ordnance.

Joseph McCartan of the UN Mine Action Service in Syria said the agency needs $26 million this year to carry out planned humanitarian mine clearance operations and other initiatives, but the biggest challenge is funding.

“Mine clearance operations are quite costly and the area suspected to be contaminated in Syria is quite large,” he added.

Since it broke out in March 2011 with the brutal suppression of anti-government protests by Damascus, the war in Syria has claimed the lives of more than half a million people and forced millions more to flee.

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