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Gunmen ambush carrying Syrian soldiers killing 20 in country’s east

Aug 11, 2023 | 12:57 AM

BEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Syrian soldiers early Friday in the country’s east, killing at least 20 and wounding others, opposition activists said.

The attack was believed to be carried out by members of the Islamic State group whose sleeper cells in parts of Syria still carry deadly attacks despite their defeat in 2019.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 Syrian soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack on a desert road near the eastern town of Mayadeen in Deir el-Zour province that borders Iraq.

Another activist collective that covers news in eastern Syria said 20 soldiers were killed and others were wounded.