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14 Islamic State fighters killed in Syria's Deir al-Zour

Xinhua, January 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Pro-government militants killed 14 Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour on Tuesday, a pro-government Syrian TV said.

The so-called Popular Resistance militants killed the IS fighters in the towns of Ashara and Swaidan in Deir al-Zour, according to Sama TV.

The militants also captured another six IS fighters in the aforementioned towns, said the report.

Popular Resistance, a pro-government militia formed recently in the oil-rich province, has carried out several ambushes against the IS militants in recent months.

Earlier this week, the Resistance group ambushed an IS vehicle, killing three of its occupants in Deir al-Zour.

Meanwhile, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes renewed Tuesday between the IS and the Syrian government troops in the neighborhoods of Rashidiyeh and Jbaileh in Deir al-Zour, with no information on casualties yet.

The Syrian air force also struck the IS positions in the city of Bu Hasan in Deir al-Zour, killing at least one person, according to the Observatory.

The Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria has a strategic importance to the IS owing to its location near Syria's border with Iraq. Endit