The ambush took place in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour (Picture: AP)
At least 33 soldiers loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad were killed in an attack carried out by the so-called Islamic State group (IS).
Two army trucks in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour were ambushed overnight on Thursday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) a Britain-based war monitoring group said it is among the deadliest to be carried out this year by the extremists.
In the last two days the number of deaths rose from 23 to 33, but there are fears the toll is likely to increase.
At least 10 other people were injured, and some still remain in serious condition.
Another activist collective that covers news in the eastern region put the number of casualties at 35, adding that all of the dead were members of the Syrian army’s 17th Division.
According to SOHR statistics, the number of fatalities in military operations in the Syrian desert since early 2023 has increased to 412.
IS claimed responsibility for the ambush in a statement released on Telegram on Friday evening.
‘Let the whole world know that our allegiance to our leaders is practised with deeds and not words and our Jihad is going on until Doomsday,’ it said.
This comes a week after the death in Syria of its little-known leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi – who had headed the extremist organisation since November.
He was the fourth leader to be killed since its founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in 2019 by US troops in north-west of the country.
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It is among the deadliest attacks to be carried out this year by the extremists.