Pro-government forces repelled an attack on a key Syrian airport during a fierce battle in which they lost 20 fighters, but killed almost as many militants, a monitor said yesterday.
“There was an attack on the outskirts of the Khalkhalah military airport in As-Suwayda province on Friday,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been able to maintain control over the airport and its surrounding areas despite losing 20 fighters. At least 15 militants were killed.
Although the group was awaiting confirmation of the identity of the attackers, Abdel Rahman told reporters they were likely to have been from the Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
Khalkhalah airport lies along a major highway that links the regime-held provincial capital of as-Suwayda to Damascus.
“The area is important because it’s Druze and borders Damascus province,” Abdel Rahman told reporters, referring to the minority sect that considers as-Suwayda its stronghold.
“The red lines that had been in place about attacking these areas have been broken,” he added.
The regime of al-Assad claims to protect Syria’s minorities against foreign-backed extremists.
However, attacks on minority communities have increased with the rise of the Islamic State, which regularly targets such sects in Syria, as well as Sunnis who it says have violated its interpretation of Islam.
On March 25, Syrian rebels and Muslim fighters seized control of the town of Bosra al-Sham, which is south of as-Suwayda, but located along the same highway as Khalkhalah Airport.
More than 215,000 people have been killed in Syria’s four-year war, which is increasingly dominated by extremist groups.
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