BEIRUT: An attack by Daesh group militants on Syrian government forces in the war-torn country鈥檚 east has killed 33 soldiers, a monitor said Saturday, revising an earlier toll of 26 deaths.
The shooting Thursday evening on an army bus was the extremist group鈥檚 deadliest attack on government forces this year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Despite losing their last piece of territory in Syria in 2019, Daesh has maintained hideouts in the vast Syrian desert from which it has carried out ambushes and hit-and-run attacks.
鈥淭he death toll from the army bus attack rose to 33 soldiers,鈥� said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the British-based monitoring group which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.
The militants surrounded the bus in the desert near Mayadeen, in Deir Ezzor province, and opened fire, the Observatory reported on Friday.
Daesh claimed the attack later Friday, saying its fighters had carried out an ambush 鈥渙n two military buses,鈥� targeting them 鈥渨ith heavy weapons and rocket-propelled grenades鈥� and setting one on fire, according to a statement from the militants鈥� Amaq news agency.
Syrian state news agency SANA said the 鈥渢errorist attack鈥� had caused a number of military casualties, citing an army source.
Abdel Rahman said Daesh 鈥渉as recently been escalating its deadly military attacks... aiming to cause as many deaths as possible.鈥�
By doing so, the militants are trying to show that Daesh 鈥渋s still active and powerful despite the targeting of its leaders,鈥� he said.
Last week, Daesh announced the death of its leader Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi, who it said was killed in clashes in northwestern Syria, and named a successor.
Daesh members in recent weeks have increased their attacks in Syria鈥檚 north and northeast.
Earlier this week, 10 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an Daesh attack in the former militant stronghold of Raqqa province, the Observatory said.
Syria鈥檚 war broke after President Bashar Assad鈥檚 government crushed peaceful protests in 2011. It has since drawn in foreign powers and global militants.
The conflict has killed more than half a million people and driven half of the country鈥檚 pre-war population from their homes.