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Syrian regime forces seize Suwayda desert

After eight days of fighting, the Syrian regime forces, with the help of opposition factions, managed to seize the Suwayda desert following the eviction of the Islamic State organization.

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Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad ride on pickup trucks mounted with weapons near Badia, in the southeast Syrian desert, June 13, 2017. — SANA/REUTERS

ALEPPO, Syria — Syrian government forces and pro-regime militias seized the desert of Suwayda in southern Syria on Aug. 12 following battles that lasted for eight days against the Islamic State (IS) organization.

Only two days into the start of the military campaign against IS on Aug. 5, the Syrian regime forces started achieving military gains against the militant organization in the Suwayda desert.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Aug. 7 that the Syrian regime forces have achieved military gains against IS as they progressed and seized the Safa hills in the northeast of the Suwayda desert.

The observatory also reported that 16 IS members were killed during the confrontations with the regime forces and pro-regime militias in the area, while four people from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party were killed following a suicide attack carried out by one of the IS members at a party headquarters in the eastern desert of Suwayda.

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