‘28 dead in Daesh counterattack on Syria regime forces’

BEIRUT — A Daesh counterattack on Syrian regime forces advancing towards a militant stronghold on Monday left 28 militants dead, a monitor said.

Dozens of Daesh militants early on Monday attacked government positions south of the town of Tabaqa, a Daesh stronghold on the Euphrates River, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said fierce clashes broke out, but that regime forces were able to maintain their positions and were still 15 kilometres  from the Daesh-held Tabaqa airport.

"Eleven regime fighters and 17 Daesh fighters were killed in the attack," said Abdel Rahman.

Earlier this month, government fighters backed by Russian air power began pushing north towards Tabaqa, held by Daesh since 2014.

The town lies some 50 kilometres east of the extremist group's Syrian de facto capital of Raqqa city, and recapturing it would sever the supply road from the west. 

Last week, Daesh militants had sent reinforcements of fighters and weapons into Tabaqa in anticipation of a fierce battle to defend the town. 

Abdel Rahman said a total of 37 government fighters and 101 Daesh militants have been killed since the regime launched its offensive for Tabaqa. 

The war in Syria — which began with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations in 2011 — has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions.

It has evolved into a brutal, complex civil war among the government, rebels, extremists, and Kurds, each carving out zones of control.