Two blasts kill regime troops in southern Syria

Three Syrian regime troops have been killed in an explosion in southern Syria on Saturday.

The New Arab’s affiliate Syria TV reported that two explosions took place in Syria’s restive Daraa province. One explosion was the result of a roadside bomb near the town of Busra al-Harir and killed one regime officer and two regime troops.

Daraa province returned to Assad regime rule in July 2018 after six years of opposition control, following an agreement brokered by Russia. Since then it has been restive, with protests against the regime, attacks on its checkpoints, as well as arrests of opposition activists and former rebels in violation of the July 2018 agreement.

The other explosion targeted an armoured vehicle belonging to the Russian military police near the ancient city of Busra al-Sham in eastern Daraa province. No casualties were reported but this was the first attack on Russian troops in the province since July 2018.

In a statement, the Free Syrian Army’s “Southern Brigade” denied responsibility for the blast, while opposition activists blamed Iran-allied militias, saying there were disputes between the regime’s allies Iran and Russia, who both have a presence in Daraa.

Last week, five regime troops were injured in a roadside bomb near the city of Nawa in northern Daraa province.

Regime and Russian airstrikes are ongoing in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, where the Syrian Network for Human Rights reports that 606 civilians, including 157 children, have been killed since the start of a regime offensive in April.

Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab