28 die in failed attempt to take Syrian air base

USPA News - At least 20 ISIS militants and eight government troops have been killed in the Islamic State`s latest attempt to seize an air base in eastern Syria, a monitoring group reported on Monday. The base commander was among those killed in the clashes.

Sunday`s attempt to take over Deir ez-Zor air base, about 450 kilometers (279 miles) northeast of Damascus, follows similar attempts in recent months. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based monitoring group, said at least 28 people were killed in Sunday`s clashes, including 20 Islamic State militants and eight Syrian government troops. Among those killed was believed to be a brigadier general who was in charge of the air base and an ISIS militant from Morocco. The observatory said five of the ISIS militants died during an attack on a building southeast of the airbase, while eleven others were killed in airstrikes by Syrian government forces. The four other ISIS militants died in clashes with government forces when they attempted to withdraw from the building that came under attack. Although the jihadists were unable to seize the air base, they succeeded in stealing anti-armor missiles, night scopes and ammunition, the observatory reported.