Daesh captures town from government — Syrian observatory

BEIRUT — The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday that the Daesh terror group fighters had captured a town in Homs province from government forces, part of a wider counter-attack by the extremists as they come under intense pressure in eastern Syria.

There was no comment from the Syrian army on the report that the town of Al Qaryatayn had fallen. The town is located some 300km from Deir Ezzor city, the current focus of the Syrian government’s campaign against Daesh. 

Syrian government forces and allied militia recovered Qaryatayn from Daesh some six months ago. The  observatory said the extremists had captured it in a surprise attack launched after their fighters had infiltrated the town.

Daesh has lost swathes of territory to the Russian-backed Syrian government and to US-backed Syrian militias that are waging separate campaigns against the group’s last major strongholds in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria.

Daesh fighters last week counter-attacked government forces and allied Iran-backed militias along the highway connecting Deir Ezzor city to Palmyra in central Syria, temporarily rendering the road impassable.

Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose group is fighting in support of the Syrian government, said on Saturday that Daesh counter-attacks were to be expected as the extremists were besieged and incapable of recovering ground.

The Syrian air force conducted intensive air strikes on Daesh positions and fortifications in several locations, a Syrian military source said in a report circulated by state media on Sunday. It did not mention Qaryatayn.

The source said dozens of Daesh militants had been killed in the air strikes to the east of the town of Al Salamiya; to the east of the town of Al Sukhna, which is on a main road to Deir Ezzor; and in Deir Ezzor province itself.