Syrian Army Kills 17 ISIS Militants in Country’s South

BEIRUT— Syrian government forces booby trapped a cluster of farm buildings in the southern Daraa province and detonated the explosives as several Islamic rebel factions gathered at the venue, killing 17 militants, opposition activists said Sunday.The...
Syrian Army Kills 17 ISIS Militants in Country’s South
This image made from video made available on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015, by Al-Mayadeen, government-controlled Syrian Television, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting shows, drone footage allegedly showing Syrian army airstrikes targeting Zahran Allouch, the head of the Army of Islam group near Damascus, Syria. Militant groups in Syria on Saturday mourned the death of a powerful rebel commander who was killed in an airstrike near Damascus — a high profile assassination that may shift the balance of power in rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital. Allouch, was killed Friday, Dec. 25 in an airstrike that targeted the group's headquarters during a meeting. Al-Mayadeen via AP video
The Associated Press
Updated:

BEIRUT—Syrian government forces booby trapped a cluster of farm buildings in the southern Daraa province and detonated the explosives as several Islamic rebel factions gathered at the venue, killing 17 militants, opposition activists said Sunday, Dec. 27.

The explosion, which took place late Saturday, was the latest blow to the rebels shortly after the assassination Friday of a powerful rebel leader on the outskirts of Damascus. The developments could boost the position of the Damascus government ahead of Syria peace talks in Geneva next month.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the explosion in the village of Kfar Shams. Ahmad al-Masalmeh, a Daraa-based opposition activist, said explosives were planted at the farm and detonated once the militants had gathered there.

“Once the fighters entered the farm, the explosives were detonated, killing 17,” al-Masalmeh said.

Drone footage allegedly showing Syrian army airstrikes targeting Zahran Allouch, the head of the Army of Islam group near Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 26. (Al-Mayadeen via AP video)
Drone footage allegedly showing Syrian army airstrikes targeting Zahran Allouch, the head of the Army of Islam group near Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 26. Al-Mayadeen via AP video