IS kills 17 pro-regime fighters in southern Syria

Islamic State militants on Thursday killed at least 17 pro-Syrian regime fighters including six soldiers in surprise attacks in the southern part of the country.

Nine Islamic State members were also killed in the assaults in Sweida province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. 

They were the first attacks of their kind in the area, where no IS presence had been noted in more than a year, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Among the 17 fighters were nine Iranians and fighters belonging to pro-Iran Shia militias, as well as two unidentified fighters, he said. 

IS has ramped up its attacks against pro-regime forces since its fighters last month left their last stronghold near Damascus under an evacuation deal with the regime. It saw thousands of civilians along with fighters bussed outside of the capital and surrounding areas. 

The new toll brings to 179 the number of pro-regime troops killed in more than two weeks in attacks across the country since 22 May. At least 89 jihadists were also killed during that same period.

IS declared a "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq in 2014 after it seized large swathes of territory. It has since lost much of what it held since Russia-backed regime troops and a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance ramped up their fight against the group. 

IS now controls less than three per cent of Syria, the Observatory says, and Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory against the group in Decemeber.

Only small patches of land, mostly in the eastern desert near the Syria-Iraq border, remain under IS control. 

Most observers say the group has shifted its strategy toward surprise attacks in light of its territorial losses. 

Earlier this week, IS assaults in the eastern province of Deir az-Zour killed 45 pro-regime fighters. 

IS in 2014 became a main belligerent in the Syrian war, which began in 2011. More than 350,000 people have been killed, mostly by the regime, since Syria's conflict started seven years ago with anti-Assad protests.  

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