Islamic State mounts surprise attack on Syrian regime forces

Twenty regime troops were killed when Islamic State militants stormed a government-controlled hospital in eastern Syria on Saturday.

Medical staff were reportedly kidnapped and taken as hostage at an undisclosed location during the attack on al-Assad hospital in Deir ez-Zor, Abu Dawud al-Deiri, from the local Deir ez-Zor News outlet, told The New Arab.

Fierce clashes between government troops and IS took place at the scene, resulting in the deaths of at least six militants as well as 20 soldiers stationed to provide security at the hospital.

"IS attacked Assad hospital at the city's western entrance, killing at least 20 soldiers and allied fighters," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

They "seized the hospital and captured the medical staff, holding them hostage", he said, confirming reports repeated by al-Deiri.

The attack came during an IS offensive aimed at reaching the oil-rich city in an attempt to seize control from government forces.

Much of Deir ez-Zor is already controlled by the Islamic State group with government forces only controlling around 30 percent of the city, including al-Qusoor and al-Joura as well as parts of Harabsh, al-Deiri suggested.

The militants imposed a siege on government-held districts in the south and the east where about 200,000 civilians have been trapped since March 2014.

Several IS attacks have targeted government areas. However, their efforts to capture the airbase located in the south of the city have been crushed by elite regime troops.