ISIS fighters dead in failed attack on Syria Alawite town: activists

ISIS fighters dead in failed attack on Syria Alawite town:

At least 19 ISIS fighters were killed Wednesday in a failed attack on an Alawite village in the central Syrian province of Homs, an activist group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, said three pro-regime militants were also killed repelling the attack on the village of Jub al-Jarah.

The Britain-based group said the attack on the village in the northeast of the province came early in the week, with violent clashes breaking out after the extremists tried to storm the area.

“National Defense Forces and other pro-regime militias battled IS fighters with each side shelling the other.

“At least 19 Islamic State members were killed… along with three National Defense Force fighters, and six people were wounded, including a child and two women.”

Jub al-Jarah lies northwest of the ancient city of Palmyra, which was captured by ISIS on May 21, and the group is also to the west of the village, in neighboring Homs province.

Its residents, like President Bashar al-Assad, mostly belong to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that ISIS considers heretical.

On early Tuesday, two ISIS suicide bombers killed 10 Syrian soldiers in the northeastern city of Hasakeh.

“Ten soldiers were killed and 16 others injured in two suicide attacks carried out by IS against army positions in Hasakeh,” the Observatory said.

“The first attack was carried out by three ISIS militants against a military barracks in the center of town, while the second was carried out by one suicide bomber against a checkpoint near  children’s hospital.”

A third suicide bomber hit a post manned by the Kurdish security forces in the city, causing serious damage to buildings in the area but no deaths.

Control of Hasakeh, which is ethnically mixed, is divided between Syrian troops and Kurdish forces.

On early last month, ISIS launched a bid to enter the city, but was pushed back after violent clashes with Syrian troops and Kurdish fighters.

Also, 13 civilians were killed in a car bomb attack against a mosque in a village near the capital Damascus, the monitor said.

The bomb exploded in the village of Al-Tall as worshippers were leaving prayers.

State news agency SANA reported the “terrorist” blast that targeted the mosque, but gave no precise toll.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack in the town, which lies just north of the capital, where a truce is in place between rebel forces inside and regime troops outside.

More than 230,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests before spiralling into a war after a regime crackdown.