An ambush on a bus in remote eastern Syria left at least 15 pro-government fighters dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday.
The terrorist attack took place on the Raqqa-Homs highway at around 6:30 am, SANA News Agency reported.
The Observatory said several other fighters were critically wounded.
“At about 6:30 this morning, a civilian bus was subjected to a terrorist attack on the Raqqa-Homs highway in al-Jira area, which led to the martyrdom of eleven army personnel and two civilians and the injury of three other army personnel,” a military source said in a statement to SANA.
Russia has recently stated that the possible Turkish military operation in Syria is an unwise step that would lead to more escalation.
“We believe that it [a Turkish military operation] would be an unwise move that may destabilize the situation, escalate tensions and cause a new round of hostilities in the country,” the Russian president’s special envoy, Alexander Lavrentyev, told reporters.
During the talks in Nur-Sultan, Russia will call upon its Turkish colleagues to refrain from this move and resolve the existing issues through a dialogue, Lavrentyev pointed out, stressing that they are ready to provide all possible support in this matter.
He also noted that the US continues plundering northeastern Syria under the pretext of fighting the IS group.
“I think we will also examine America’s presence, which is also central; its illegal presence in the northeast under the guise of fighting ISIS. In fact, the American units that are there are mainly engaged in protecting the oil fields, in fact, they ensure that Syria’s national resources are being looted,” he emphasized.
