ISIS extremists on Thursday killed at least 18 regime fighters in an attack in central Syria, a war monitor said.
Pro-government fighters backed by Russian airstrikes were battling off the extremists on the outskirts of the desert town of Al-Sukhna in Homs province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The air raids and clashes killed 11 ISIS fighters, the Britain-based monitor said.

“The Russian aviation intervened to stop the jihadists from advancing and retaking the town,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Syrian regime forces recaptured Al-Sukhna from ISIS in 2017.
Thursday’s attack was the deadliest in the area since December, when ISIS fighters attacked an army garrison in a gas facility east of Homs city, killing four civilians and 13 troops or militiamen, Abdel Rahman said.
ISIS proclaimed a “caliphate” in parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014.
After years of various offensives against it, US-backed forces finally expelled the extremists from their last patch of territory in eastern Syria a year ago.
But ISIS fighters still retain a presence in the vast Badia desert stretching across the country through Homs province and eastwards to the Iraqi border, and continue to carry out deadly attacks.
Read more:
EU considering more Syria sanctions after chemical weapons report
Syria reports first coronavirus case
ISIS issues travel warning to coronavirus-hit countries
Syria’s war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
-
Coronavirus: Isolated Syrian refugee camp with no doctors or aid fears outbreak
The isolated camp of Rukban in southeast Syria faces tremendous challenges as it prepares for a potential outbreak of the coronavirus.In this refugee ... Features -
Syrian regime responsible for 2017 chemical attacks: Watchdog
The world’s chemical weapons watchdog on Wednesday for the first time explicitly blamed Syria for toxic attacks in the country, saying President ... Middle East -
UN refrains from directly blaming Russia for Syria hospital attacks: Report
A UN board of inquiry formed last summer to investigate attacks on civilian establishments in Syria, including hospitals, has refrained from directly ... Middle East