IS launches fiercest attack in months in southern Damascus

DAMASCUS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) militants unleashed Wednesday an offensive in the south of Damascus, capturing 12 buildings, a monitor group reported.

The IS militants attacked areas held by the pro-government fighters in the Tadamun neighborhood south of the capital Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog said the attack in Tadamun is the most violent the southern rim of the capital has witnessed in months.

An intense showdown between the government forces and IS militants followed the offensive, said the observatory, adding that the Syrian forces unleashed a counter-offensive in that area to retrieve what they had lost during the IS attack.

The offensive is not expected to be a success as the Syrian forces have recaptured several buildings in Tadamun amid ongoing battles.

The IS militants have lost all of their key strongholds in Syria either to the Syrian forces or the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, holding a few pockets in northeastern Syria as well as in the southern countryside of Damascus.

The attack in Tadamun comes as the IS attempts to prove its capability to wage attacks and undermine the relative calm in the capital. Enditem